Core, The

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The surprise is that it's one of the most exciting and enjoyable disaster epics to come out of Hollywood in some time.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

A two-hour pleasure cruise.

Slate David Edelstein

It's the feel-good movie of the year.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

The real core of The Core is the beautiful friendship between a highly emotive Eckhart and the sacrificial Karyo. Their bond is the best thing to happen to Franco-American relations since SpaghettiOs.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

The Core is unabashed Hollywood spectacle, but with a cast of up-from-indie actors that makes the cataclysmic kitsch all the more fun to behold.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

It's a straight-ahead adventure with the usual number of thrills, but with the added virtue of being smarter and more sober than one might expect.

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

Sometimes the laughs here seem unintentional, but most giggles are properly earned, and the movie's fun and exciting if you can accept its inherent camp factor.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

With the exception of Hilary Swank, whose earnestness spoils the fun, a stellar cast seems in on the joke.

Portland Oregonian Kim Morgan

With a less popcorn-friendly cast and some cheesy special effects, this is a surprisingly engaging, sometimes foolish but often roughly intelligent film.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

No one's going to confuse The Core with art -- or even a good film -- but it's 25 minutes longer than "The Hours" and I had at least 25 times as much fun.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

So howlingly awful that it has unwittingly found a place in that elite group of films that can claim to be "so bad they're good."

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

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.

Variety Todd McCarthy

More palatable than most pictures of its ilk due to its keen awareness of its own preposterousness, a self-knowledge exuberantly expressed by a mostly live-wire cast.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The talented cast--manages to rescue the movie as well as the earth.

TV Guide Ken Fox

The similarities between this film and Michael Bay's overblown "Armageddon"are too numerous to ignore; the crucial difference is that this one is actually pretty good.

Film Threat Rory L. Aronsky

Decent in its special effects and has the advantage of having Hilary Swank and Aaron Eckhart in it.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

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.

USA Today Claudia Puig

In dashing Indiana Jones style, Eckhart gets to be a hero.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

It's a schlockier ''Armageddon'' crossed with ''Fantastic Voyage,'' minus the fun.

Film Threat Rick Kisonak

The pacing is brisk-something wacky happens every couple of minutes, the editing crisp and the effects promising. Then disaster strikes: the first act gives way to the relative witlessness of the second and third.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

The real obstacle here is a lack of filmmaking imagination.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Elaborate misfire, which misuses an unusually good cast.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

There's a refreshing surefootedness in the way Amiel, his screenwriters Cooper Layne and John Rogers, and most of his actors recognize how preposterous the idea of traveling to the center of the earth in a souped-up Rototiller really is.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

The Core -- with its by-the-numbers plot and performances -- isn't offensive, just unblushingly tacky and derivative.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

It’s just not quite bad enough to be considered good, although Stanley Tucci’s hairpiece comes awfully close.

LA Weekly Hazel-Dawn Dumpert

The first half-hour of The Core is hip enough to its own moribund formula that for a brief, shining moment, there's hope the film will actually be a goofy gas instead of the effects-bound lump it becomes.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

Only Stanley Tucci seems aware of the drop-dead stupidity of the plot, and acts up a storm of high camp as the narcissistic scientist.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

I've just seen The Core, and I have a piece of advice for Hilary Swank: Don't quit your night job.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

This sloppily made, poky, extra cheesy adventure is virtually a remake of "Armageddon."

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The only pressing burden in this deep interior world is the question: What in or on Earth is a cast this good doing in a movie this ridiculous?

The New York Times A.O. Scott

The cast of The Core deserve Oscar nominations just for being able to speak most of the lines without succumbing to the chortles.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Built from an alloy of absurdium and stupidium, with the latter, heavier element dominating the mix.