Descenders go Down
To most Professor Harlech (F. Murray Abraham) was a crackpot whose idea of tunnelling to the earth's core was utter madness. But his nephew Christ Turner (Jeffrey Nordling - Flight 93) felt otherwise and after Harlech dies in trying Chris takes over his project and manages to find backing from a businessman who will finance his exploration of the earth's core as he believes the surface of the planet will soon be inhabitable and they need to find new places to live. Along with Dr. Margo Peterson (Farrah Forke) they set about building their team and the machine which will take them deeper than anyone has ever gone before.
It seems that Jules Verne's story "Voyage au centre de la Terre" is a favourite of studios as it has been made into a few big screen and small screen productions over the years. But this 1993 version of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" is a bit different as not only does it update the story to a more modern setting or at least an early 90s setting but it was also a pilot for a planned TV series which was never to be. That makes this TV movie really a series pilot and as such feels incomplete, technically I should say spoiler alert but basically the movie doesn't have an ending especially not in the way those familiar with other versions of Verne's story will be accustom to as it sets things up for the never to be series.
But the incomplete story is not the movies issue but general tackiness is. Now in fairness this is a product of the early 90s and watching it over 20 years later it is extremely early 90s in style from the characters to the special effects and especially the excruciating dialogue. But it is simply laughable and not in an entertainingly bad way as everything about it is poor especially the characters. You kind of feel for the likes of Jeffrey Nordling and Farrah Forke because whilst they are not great actors they are superior to this.
What this all boils down to is that this version of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" is poor and extremely hard work even if you watch it expecting a tacky 90s pilot for a TV series which was never made.
