From 2012 and Armageddon to Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, moviegoers have always loved a good apocalyptic disaster thriller. Since the days of The Towering Inferno and Earthquake, these films have been a staple in Hollywood thanks to their over-the-top destruction that usually features famous monuments crumbling into bits. Even the bad ones are good, like in the case of a 2003 end-of-the-world disaster thriller that bombed at the box office, but remains a comfort film for many thanks to streaming.
Released 22 years ago, The Core is one of those movies that’s completely ridiculous in terms of its plot, but a film we can’t help but love thanks to its ensemble cast. Starring Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, D. J. Qualls, Richard Jenkins, Tcheky Karyo, Bruce Greenwood, and Alfre Woodard, it focuses on an unlikely band of heroes who must travel to the heart of our planet to jump start the earth’s core with some nuclear bombs. Like we said, ridiculous, right?
Called “bonkers” by some, and a “big, dumb, explosion movie” by others, they’re not wrong, but for all its faults, The Core remains a cult-favorite despite its 39% Rotten Tomatoes score. It’s one of those comfort movies that you can put on in the background while you go about your business, pausing only to watch the scene where Lindo heroically sacrifices himself for the good of humanity. Featuring exciting sequences, an entertaining premise, and enough disaster to quench anyone’s thirst, The Core is now available to stream on a number of platforms, including Paramount+ and Starz. Check out the outrageous synopsis below:
“Geophysicist Dr. Josh Keyes (Eckhart) discovers that an unknown force has caused the earth’s inner core to stop rotating. With the planet’s magnetic field rapidly deteriorating, our atmosphere literally starts to come apart at the seams with catastrophic consequences. To resolve the crisis, Keyes, along with a team of the world’s most gifted scientists, travel into the earth’s core. Their mission: detonate a device that will reactivate the core.”
‘The Core’ Was a Box Office Disaster, but It’s Still Fun
While The Core might be a revered favorite two decades later, when it debuted in theaters it failed to impress just about everyone. Produced for $85 million, it only managed to take it a little over $74 million worldwide, making it a certified dud. That’s even with the backhanded recommendation by noted critic Roger Ebert, who wrote in his review:
“I have such an unreasonable affection for this movie, indeed, that it is only by slapping myself alongside the head and drinking black coffee that I can restrain myself from recommending it.”
Voted one of the most scientifically inaccurate movies ever made, The Core might not get high marks for its authenticity, but it gets two thumbs up from us for being a fun popcorn flick that allows you to escape from reality for a couple of hours. Just grab your snacks, turn your brain off, and enjoy watching the space shuttle make an emergency landing in the Los Angeles River.
- Release Date
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March 28, 2003
- Runtime
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135 minutes
- Director
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Jon Amiel
- Writers
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Cooper Layne, John Rogers