Journey To The Center of The Earth is a sloppy remake of a popular 1959 film based on the Jules Verne classic novel.

Brendan Fraser plays the goofy scientist who leads his last-minute expedition inside the mouth of a volcano, and the gimmick here is that the film is in 3-D.

Before you can say "watch out!" they fall all the way to the center of the Earth, and that's where they find a wild mine ride and — of course, in grand 3-D fashion — they climb aboard and take off.

Journey To The Center Of The Earth is directed on shaky ground by Eric Brevig, the director of TV's Xena: Warrior Princess. His movie is strictly for a young PG family audience with a short attention span. You can count on animated fish jumping out of the water.

Journey To The Center of The Earth is the first in a long line of 3-D feature films on the way. We can only hope they will get better, because without the glasses, this film is unwatchable.

Yes, kids under the age of 10 will have fun and be entertained, but in the long run, it's a step backward in filmmaking.

E-mail gcogill@wfaa.com