The plot unravels in unwieldy dollops, and, despite some adequate special effects (for the time), the whole thing is really a bit of a bore.

The film looks nice but unoriginal (blue light, dry ice, flashing instrument panels); the model work is okay but laboured; the acting is stunningly mediocre.

...even if there’s a gap between the film’s big ambitions and the budget, there’s more than enough here to sustain interest...

Over-plotted, cliché-ridden and highly derivative, this mining mess certainly benefits from Emmerich's talent for getting every dollar on screen, and both the effects and production values belie its origins.