The Core
Categories: 2003 films | Disaster movies
The Core (2003) is a science fiction disaster movie very loosely based on the novel Core by Paul Preuss. It concerns a team who have to drill to the center of the Earth and set off a series of nuclear explosions in order to start the Earth's core spinning again. The Core was directed by Jon Amiel, and starred Aaron Eckhart, Delroy Lindo, Hilary Swank, and Stanley Tucci.
The film received low critical reviews, and did very poorly at the box-office.
Contents |
Synopsis
Strange things are happening on Earth's surface - everybody with a pacemaker drops dead at once within a 10-block radius. The pigeons in London's Trafalgar Square lose their internal navigational ability and start smashing into windscreens and breaking panes of glass.
The world soon realises the cause of these anomalies: Earth's core has stopped rotating. Within a year, the Earth will lose its electromagnetic shield and will be fried by solar radiation.
A team of "terranauts" is recruited to drill down to Earth's core and set off a series of nuclear explosions hopefully to restart the core's rotation. To aid their $15 billion journey, they use a newly-developed "sonic laser" that can cut through rock and an indestructible metal called "Unobtainium".
While they are underground, the world is struck by more disasters. Huge microwaves from the sun break through the atmosphere, melting the Golden Gate Bridge and frying San Francisco. Gigantic lightning bolts tear up the streets of Rome and blast the Colosseum to smitherines.
The base of the drilling experiments is in the Utah desert. The government also has a secret facility in Alaska with which they can start earthquakes anywhere on the planet; this weapon, called Project DESTINI, is revealed to be the cause of the stalling of Earth's core.
Trivia
- While the movie may have been based on junk science, the reference to the secret government facility in Alaska is real. Project D.E.S.T.I.N.I. is a parody of the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP, that some believe uses the Earth's magnetic field to manipulate weather and earthquakes, broadcast signals, and even control minds.
Goofs
- The magma would have filled the giant geode in much less time because of the extreme pressures that are present at that depth.