<P> The Core is a 2003 American science fiction disaster film . The film focuses on a team whose mission is to drill to the center of the Earth and set off a series of nuclear explosions in order to restart the rotation of the Earth's core . The film was directed by Jon Amiel, and stars Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, Tchéky Karyo, DJ Qualls, Bruce Greenwood and Alfre Woodard . </P> <P> Geophysicist Dr. Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart) and scientists Dr. Serge Leveque (Tchéky Karyo) and Dr. Conrad Zimsky (Stanley Tucci) become aware of an instability of Earth's magnetic field after a series of incidents across the globe . They determine that the Earth's molten core, which generates this field, has stopped rotating, and within a year the field will collapse exposing the planet's surface directly to devastating solar radiation . Backed by the U.S. Government, Keyes, Leveque, and Zimsky create a plan to bore down to the core and set off several nuclear explosions to restart the rotation . They gain the help of rogue scientist Dr. Ed "Braz" Brazzelton (Delroy Lindo) who has devised a vessel made of "Unobtainium" that can withstand the heat and pressure within the Earth's crust and convert it to energy, as well as a laser - driven boring system that will allow them to quickly pass through the crust . Construction starts immediately on the Virgil, a multi-compartment vessel to be helmed by Space Shuttle pilots Commander Robert Iverson (Bruce Greenwood) and Major Rebecca "Beck" Childs (Hilary Swank) who will join Keyes and the others . To prevent a worldwide panic, Keyes enlists computer hacker Theodore Donald "Rat" Finch (DJ Qualls) to scour the Internet and eliminate all traces of the pending disaster or their plan . </P> <P> Virgil is launched through the Marianas Trench from an offshore platform . The team accidentally drills through a gigantic empty geode structure 700 miles below the surface, damaging the lasers when it lands at its base and cracking the geode's structure and causing magma to flow in from above . The crew repair and restart the laser array in time, but Iverson is killed by a falling crystal shard that hits him in the helmet and subsequently fell into magma, while returning to the ship . As Virgil continues, it clips a huge diamond that breaches the hull of the last compartment . Leveque sacrifices himself to save the nuclear launch codes before the compartment is crushed by extreme pressure . </P> <P> Meanwhile, on the surface, the public becomes aware of problems after super storms and unfiltered patches of ultra-violet radiation destroy Rome and San Francisco . Finch is unable to stop worldwide panic but instead learns of the top - secret project "DESTINI" (Deep Earth Seismic Trigger INItiative), which is the government's' secondary protocol' and will be deployed should the Virgil mission fail . Finch relays his information to Keyes, who discovers that Zimsky was one of DESTINI's lead scientists . DESTINI, according to Zimsky, was designed as a weapon to propagate earthquakes through the Earth's core, but its first activation unintentionally stopped its rotation instead . Zimsky reveals the government will use it again to attempt a restart of the core . Keyes is convinced it will have disastrous results and has Finch hack into DESTINI's system and cut its power supply to buy the Virgil more time . </P>

What is the main problem in the movie the core