Surely, any 3-D movie must be judged by the diversity of objects thrown at the camera. Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D alternates between staples of the genre (rocks, balls, flares) and relatively novel additions (glowing birds, flying fish, saliva from the mouths of Brendan Fraser and a dinosaur). In the latter category we can also include a copy of Jules Verne’s original novel, which this movie update postulates was more fact than fiction. This premise prompts a kid-friendly adventure story that plays like a blander variation on the National Treasure flicks, albeit goosed up with 3-D effects that are sporadically engaging but inevitably suffer from the genre’s major drawback: a rapidly declining wow factor.
Giving an admirably plucky performance for an actor stuck with a green screen at his back and a wind machine in his face, Fraser plays Trevor Anderson, a professor of plate tectonics who discovers that Verne’s book might’ve really been a map to “a world inside the world.” With his late brother’s son Sean (Josh Hutcherson) and mountain guide Hannah (Anita Briem), they head underground. Less a scientific expedition than a geologically themed amusement-park ride, their subterranean trip offers plenty of opportunities for acts of derring-do but few surprises. While tykes won’t mind so much — T. Rex spit always thrills the primary-school crowd — grown-ups already spoiled by the quality of Kung Fu Panda and Wall-E this summer may grow fussy and listless. Be ready to placate them with extra snacks.