Movie Review: 'Journey 2: The Mysterious Island'

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island Starring Josh Hutcherson, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Michael Caine Directed by Brad Peyton Rated PG

As a movie reviewer, when I sit down and write my thoughts on a particular film, I sometimes need to alter my process.  I really can't rate something like Journey 2: The Mysterious Island on the same scale as last year's Drive, or 50/50, or anything with a deep or complicated plot and characters.  But as a family film, it does its job really well, and makes it so both kids and adults will be entertained, without alienating either with humor or or questionable situations.

A few years after Journey to the Center of the Earth, we find Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) at odds with his mother for moving them away from his friends, and marrying Hank (Dwayne Johnson).  However, after receiving an encoded transmission from his grandfather Alexander (Michael Caine), Sean and Hank find themselves heading for the Pacific ocean in search of The Mysterious Island, as written by Jules Verne.  To get there, they team up with helicopter pilot Gabato (Luis Guzman) and his daughter, Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens), and end up going on a roller-coaster ride of giant insects, tiny elephants, and probably one of the most extravagant uses of 3D technology yet.

Now I'm not a fan of using 3D effects to constantly throw stuff into the audiences faces, and there's quite a bit of that here.  But, at the same time, the special effects were outstanding.  When there wasn't something flying from the screen at us, the already impressive visuals were gorgeously enhanced by the 3D technology.  When there isn't much else to really bring this lost and hidden island to life, the scenery will more than speak for itself.

That being said, the overly picky adult (like myself) or an older kid with a mind for science (like a few sitting around me) might roll their eyes at how the film uses science when convenient, and ignores it completely when it wants to.  It's discovered that the Mysterious Island is on a 140 year cycle, where 70 of those years are above water, and 70 years below; okay, that can explain why it has never been discovered in modern times.  But apparently on this island is an ancient city, which happens to be Atlantis, complete with an icon of the Greek god Poseidon.  For those playing at home, the Mysterious Island they traveled to is in the Pacific, but anything from the Greek era would be in the Mediterranean...  To avoid my mistake of over analyzing it, just leave your fact checking thought processes at the door.

With Dwayne Johnson and Michael Caine leading the cast, they tend to take center stage more often than the fantasy setting of the island itself.  Caine and Johnson have some great back and forth as they constantly pick on each other, and they both take turns with the ever comedic Luis Guzman.  Josh Hutcherson and Vanessa Hudgens are there for the kids to relate to, as their typical teenage problems are carried with them in this disappearing paradise. They both do a good job with their respective roles, and making them more interesting than how bland they look on paper.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is by no means a masterpiece of cinema.  But as a fun, family film for all ages on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, you really can't go wrong.