USA 2000 80m Directed by: Rodney McDonald. Starring: Craig Sheffer, Terry Farrell, Bruce McGill, Harry Van Gorkum, Wil Wheaton, James Russo, Ron Yuan, James Lew, Kenneth Choi, Dean Cameron, Donald Li, Catherine Kwong, Joseph Patrick Kelly. Music by: Richard McHugh.
Ego-driven industrialist Alan Morrisey has paid to develop the ultimate mining machine -- a nearly invincible vehicle that uses laser energy to burrow through anything. But the machine's creator, Brian Goodman, knows that it is too good at what it does and could cause repercussions beneath the Earth's core. So he destroys it. Years later, Morrisey has hired another scientist, Allison Saunders, to rebuild the machine, and Goodman's predictions of devastation come true. There are earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcano eruptions around the world, and they're only getting worse. It's up to Goodman and his crack team of subterranean disaster fighters -- Sam Dalton and Rodney Bedecker -- to save the planet by setting off a series of subterranean nuclear explosions, with Morrisey and Saunders along for the ride. Meanwhile, topside, the sinister Daryl Simmons is planning to sabotage the rescue in order to help the Chinese military.
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Alright then, we've got Craig Sheffer playing the creator of a mobile drilling machine that causes a major worldwide countdown to disaster. Of course, he walked off the job a year or so earlier fearing that his creation might be used as a weapon. He was right. It's the potential for that disaster thing I just mentioned which brings our would-be hero back to save the day. If this sounds remotely like so many other films out there, it probably is.
This is B movie territory, folks, but it's a FUN ride! Sheffer gets to dig down 120 miles into the Earth and place 5 nuclear bombs that will create a chain effect that stops the planet from tearing itself apart...while also saving valuable budget money by not showing too many disasters on the surface (always visible because the camera shakes before we get some cheesy CGI effects).
Along for the ride is James Russo, Wil Wheaton (giving a better performance than in "Python") and Terry Farrell (Dax from "Star Trek: Deep Space 9"). What the film isn't able to entertain you with visually because of what I'm assuming is a modest budget, it more than makes up for in dialogue and acting. There are a few techno-babble bits here and there, but these guys (and gal) are enjoying themselves and provide some welcome laughter. Forget the other Government stiffs. They kind of pad the film a bit and aren't nearly as fun to watch.
It's especially nice to see Sheffer in a more heroic role after "Hellraiser: Inferno" and Wheaton still has a smile that will make you melt. If you can overlook some really fake CGI effects and just take the movie for what it's supposed to be, entertainment, then you could do a lot worse than give "Deep Core" a try.
Review by Kage-3 from the Internet Movie Database.