The Core
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: March 28, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
48
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
14
Negative:
6
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The surprise is that it's one of the most exciting and enjoyable disaster epics to come out of Hollywood in some time. Read full review
80
SlateDavid Edelstein
It's the feel-good movie of the year. Read full review
80
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
A two-hour pleasure cruise. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven 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. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeWesley 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. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick 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. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverGregory 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. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubScott Tobias
With the exception of Hilary Swank, whose earnestness spoils the fun, a stellar cast seems in on the joke. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
With a less popcorn-friendly cast and some cheesy special effects, this is a surprisingly engaging, sometimes foolish but often roughly intelligent film. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames 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." Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger 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. Read full review
63
New York PostLou 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. Read full review
60
VarietyTodd 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. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The talented cast--manages to rescue the movie as well as the earth. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineKen 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. Read full review
60
Film ThreatRory L. Aronsky
Decent in its special effects and has the advantage of having Hilary Swank and Aaron Eckhart in it. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Elaborate misfire, which misuses an unusually good cast. Read full review
50
SalonStephanie 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. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The real obstacle here is a lack of filmmaking imagination. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The Core -- with its by-the-numbers plot and performances -- isn't offensive, just unblushingly tacky and derivative. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
In dashing Indiana Jones style, Eckhart gets to be a hero. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
It's a schlockier ''Armageddon'' crossed with ''Fantastic Voyage,'' minus the fun. Read full review
50
Film ThreatRick 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. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth 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. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
It’s just not quite bad enough to be considered good, although Stanley Tucci’s hairpiece comes awfully close. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyHazel-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. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
I've just seen The Core, and I have a piece of advice for Hilary Swank: Don't quit your night job. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJack 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. Read full review
30
Washington PostRita Kempley
This sloppily made, poky, extra cheesy adventure is virtually a remake of "Armageddon." Read full review
25
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? Read full review
10
The New York TimesA.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. Read full review
10
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Built from an alloy of absurdium and stupidium, with the latter, heavier element dominating the mix.
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