The Core

For the concept in economics and game theory, see Core (economics).

For the shopping centres called "The Core", see The Core Shopping Centre.

For the professional wrestling stable, see The Core (professional wrestling).

The Core
Promotional poster for The Core
Directed by	Jon Amiel
Written by	Cooper Layne John Rogers
Produced by	Sean Bailey David Foster Cooper Layne
Starring	Aaron Eckhart Delroy Lindo Hilary Swank DJ Qualls Bruce Greenwood Stanley Tucci
Cinematography	John Lindley
Music by	Christopher Young
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	March 28, 2003
Running time	135 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	US$60,000,000
Box office	$73,498,611

The Core is a 2003 American disaster film loosely based on the novel Core by Paul Preuss. It concerns a team that has to drill to the center of the Earth and set off a series of nuclear explosions in order to restart the rotation of Earth's core. The film was directed by Jon Amiel, and starred Aaron Eckhart, Delroy Lindo, Tchéky Karyo, Hilary Swank, DJ Qualls, Bruce Greenwood, and Stanley Tucci.

Plot

After a series of strange events over the world connected by variances in the Earth's electromagnetic field, leading geology expert Dr. Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart), a University of Chicago professor, teams with Serge Leveque (Tchéky Karyo) and Conrad Zimsky (Stanley Tucci) to learn that the rotation of Earth's molten core has stopped spinning, leading eventually to the collapse of the electromagnetic field which will expose the surface to the Sun's lethal radiation. The three develop a top-secret plan with the United States government to bore into the Earth's core and plant a series of nuclear charges at precise points to restart the core's motion and restore the field. They design a multi-compartment, snake-like vessel called the Virgil with the help of Ed "Braz" Brazzelton (Delroy Lindo), who has developed both a means of quickly boring through rock using an array of powerful lasers, and a material called "unobtainium" for its hull that can withstand the high pressures within the core. Keyes develops a means of using MRI-like technology to help visualize their way through solid rock. Keyes also enlists the help of a young computer hacker, Theodore Donald "Rat" Finch (DJ Qualls), to help with communications between the vessel and the surface, as well as to keep any word of the potential global disaster off the Internet for fear of causing a worldwide panic.

The vessel, piloted by Endeavour's Commander Robert Iverson (Bruce Greenwood) and Major Rebecca "Beck" Childs (Hilary Swank), is quietly "launched" over the Marianas Trench and begins to bore into the Earth. When they accidentally drill through a geode-like structure that temporarily stalls the ship, Iverson is killed while attempting to restart the unit. As Virgil continues its travels, it clips the edge of a huge diamond, breaching the hull of the last compartment; Leveque, inside, sacrifices himself to make sure that Keyes and the others have the appropriate launch codes before the compartment is jettisoned and crushed. Virgil eventually reaches the molten core. The crew discover that their original plans for nuclear detonation would be insufficient, and quickly devise a scheme to instead lay a series of timed detonations to restart the core's motion by separating the other compartments at key positions in the core, though it requires someone to deactivate a safety switch in Virgil that is in an area exposed to the elevated temperatures of the core. Brazzelton volunteers, and successfully deactivates the switch, dying shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile, on the surface, the public become aware of problems after a lightning super storm appears over Rome and destroys the Colosseum, and a patch of unfiltered sunlight over San Francisco melts the Golden Gate Bridge. Finch is unable to stop the worldwide panic, but in his attempts, learns of the top-secret project "DESTINI" (Deep Earth Seismic Trigger INItiative) which the government officials seem willing to enact if Virgil's crew fails, and cryptically relays the information to Keyes. Keyes discovers that Zimsky was one of DESTINI's lead scientists and angrily seeks more information. DESTINI, according to Zimsky, was designed as a weapon to propagate earthquakes through the Earth's core, but on its use, became the cause for stopping the core's rotation. Zimsky reveals the government will use it again to try to restart the core, which could have disastrous results. Keyes asks Finch to stall DESTINI while hastening their effects to complete the detonations. Keyes and Zimsky realize as they are setting the charges they have miscalculated the timing, and race to reset each device's timer before the compartments are detached, but Zimsky becomes trapped in one compartment. As Keyes and Childs continue to set the other charges, Zimsky reveals they need to also utilize the main compartment's nuclear fuel rod to finalize the impact of the explosions, but will leave them without power to escape the blast.

Keyes and Childs quickly use the energy generated by the unobtainium shell to propel Virgil safely out of the way as the explosions commence, successfully restarting the core's rotation. Keyes and Childs continue to use the power from the ship's hull to return to the surface, but break through the crust under water, where the unobtainium is unable to provide sufficient energy to power the ship or their communications, and believe themselves lost. However, the vessel is found by Finch and the others by tracking whale song from a nearby pod circling the vessel. After their recovery, Keyes asks Finch to release full information of Project DESTINI and of their mission to the Internet, which reveals the truth to all, and ensures that Iverson, Leveque, Brazzelton and Zimsky are not forgotten, but rather lauded as heroes.

Cast

• Aaron Eckhart as Dr. Joshua "Josh" Keyes, a scientist who designs the navigation system for Virgil and is assigned as head of the project.
• Hilary Swank as Major Rebecca "Beck" Childs, USAF, an astronaut who distinguished herself during an emergency crash landing of the Space Shuttle Endeavour in Los Angeles, California.
• Delroy Lindo as Dr. Edward "Braz" Brazzelton, the designer of Virgil and the ultrasonic laser.
• Stanley Tucci as Dr. Conrad Zimsky, Earth specialist and designer of Project D.E.S.T.I.N.I..
• Tchéky Karyo as Dr. Serge Leveque, nuclear weapons specialist.
• Bruce Greenwood as Commander Robert "Bob" Iverson, USN, Major Childs' commander and mentor.
• DJ Qualls as Theodore Donald "Rat" Finch, a computer hacker who is widely regarded as the best in the world, crippled the FBI's database, recruited to control the flow of information on the Internet to prevent public panic.
• Alfre Woodard as Flight Commander Dr. Talma "Stick" Stickley, the mission commander for NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour and Virgil.
• Richard Jenkins as Lieutenant General Thomas Purcell, a lieutenant general in the United States army and leader of the operation.

Critical reaction

The film received 42% positive reviews out of 159 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10 at the movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Several reviews cited the numerous scientific inaccuracies in the film. The film was a box office bomb, making less than half of its production budget back during its time in US theaters.

Elvis Mitchell, of the New York Times, said, "The brazen silliness of The Core is becalming and inauthentic, like taking a bath in nondairy coffee creamer. The Earth core's inability to turn is mirrored in the cast's inability to give the picture any spin." Kenneth Turan, of the LA Times, was a little more forgiving, saying, "If The Core finally has to be classified as a mess, it is an enjoyable one if you're in a throwback mood. After all, a film that comes up with a rare metal called Unobtainium can't be dismissed out of hand."

On March 30, 2009 it was reported that Dustin Hoffman was leading a campaign to get more real science into science-fiction movies. Hoffman is on the advisory board of the Science & Entertainment Exchange, an initiative of the National Academy of Sciences, intended to foster collaborations between scientists and entertainment industry professionals in order to minimize inaccurate representations of science and technology such as those found in The Core.

In a poll of hundreds of scientists about bad science fiction films, The Core was voted the worst.

On February 21, 2010, The Guardian ran an article about American professor Sidney ­Perkowitz's proposals to curb bad science in science fiction movies. In the article, Perkowitz is said to have hated The Core. "If you violate [the coherent rules of science] you are in trouble. The chances are that the public will pick it up and that is what matters to Hollywood. The Core did not make money because people understood the science was so out to lunch," he added.

External links

• The Core at AllMovie
• The Core at IMDb
• The Core at Box Office Mojo
• The Core at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Core at Metacritic
• Review of The physics of The Core at Bad Astronomy
• Review of the Core at Intuitor.com