The Rock Journeys to the 'Center of the Earth' Sequel

I'm giving up on Dwayne Johnson. It was OK to take bad movies earlier in his career, when he faced the hurdle of transitioning from WWE wrestler to movie star. I thought after The Rundown and a good stint hosting Saturday Night Live that he could be a new action hero. He had the physical attributes as well as better charisma and a quicker wit than almost anybody in that category, certainly among guys of his generation. But Johnson has done way too many kids' movies in the past couple years and the kind of action flicks he's getting aren't very inspiring. Here's a guy who could do a lot of things but it appears he'll just do B-grade action flicks and stuff like Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. Heat Vision reports that The Rock will co-star with Josh Hutcherson in the sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth, portraying the boyfriend of Hutcherson's mom. Thee other characters will be cast in the next few weeks. The 2008 Journey, I was reminded, is one of three case studies in quality live-action 3-D during its resurgence. Worldwide, it made almost a quarter-billion off a $60 million budget, so that's why we're here again. Brendan Fraser won't be returning and that is of no consequence to me in any way. But because of the money, because of the open-ended nature of the story, and because there's room for growth in 3-D, this is one of those rare sequels that actually makes perfect sense across the board. No, the first one wasn't great, but people ate it up and there are definite prospects for expansion here. It's a studio's dream, in other words. Curiously, New Line is moving the film out of the summer and opening it in September next year. Most of that, I'm sure, has to do with an October start date for the film, but it's not common to see a movie do well in one season and get moved around for the sequel, particularly to what is more of a dead zone. Move it to December and I can understand it -- family film, holiday box office, etc. -- but September 23rd seems an odd choice.

Comments

[Nelson]

Any idea on why no return of Brendan Fraser? That's generally a very bad sign for a sequel when the top-billed actor doesn't return. (The Fugitve - US Marshalls, Bruce - Evan Almighty, Speed - Speed 2 etc etc)

[Josh]

Brendan Fraser still works?

[Vince]

For the record, Faster looks pretty cool.

Didn't like the first Journey movie all that much, but it seemed to be alright for the kiddies. A sequel, somewhat unwanted but it could find a niche and make a bit of bank, but not nearly as much as the first, that's for sure.

[Colin]

Faster could be OK; I would have preferred the Spy Hunter adaptation he was linked to once upon a time, but between that and Fast Five (and Nic Cage's Drive Angry), it seems like there's a lot of repetition in the road revenge category.

Apparently, Nelson, Fraser didn't want to shoot when they wanted to shoot or something. And, let's face it, unlike those other movies you mentioned, it's not like he's the one getting the tickets punched.

[nickro]

Yeah I agree the Rock is fuckin up.