“Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” is not so much “good” as it is “good enough” for a Saturday matinee with the family.
The follow-up to “Journey To The Center Of The Earth” brings back Josh Hutcherson as Sean, a teen Sci-Fi fan and, in particular an aficionado of the books of Jules Verne. His biggest beef, no pun intended, seems to be with his stepfather, Hank, played by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
A too complicated for kids (and too silly for adults) set-up passes by quickly enough and, soon, Step-Father and son are on their way to the titular Island, where they hope to find Sean’s long lost Grandfather, played by the omnipresent Michael Caine. Joining them for the journey are Luis Guzman as an under qualified helicopter pilot, and his teen daughter, played by Vanessa Hudgens. For the record, Hudgens is 23 years old. Is it an accident that Hudgen’s purple tank is about 4 inches too short, leaving a wide open view of her bare midriff in every shot ? Or is it weird that I couldn’t stop noticing? Either way, it’s one strong point of the film.
Once on the island, things pick up. The foursome find their way in and out of trouble with enough regularity to keep up a decent pace. The effects, again, are not so much “good” as they are adequate for the young audience. Some of the creatures might be too intense for kids under 5. The best age range for the content would seem to be about 7 to 12 years old. Seeing Michael Caine pilot a giant bee is cute, and Guzman’s trademark mugging elicits smiles, if not laughs. But the killer bird chasing them is scary, and is but one example of what may be too much for the youngest viewers.
The Rock still speaks his lines with poor delivery and great charisma. Dude has a million dollar smile, but as an actor, he’s still “evolving.” As a producer, he has apparently given himself some leeway: a Pec-Flexing scene comes out of nowhere and over stays its welcome; a ukulele-playing Rock singing “What A Wonderful World” exists purely as a vanity scene.
So, what’s the good news? The good news is that you can take the family and step into a fantasy world for an hour and a half. They’ll enjoy the 3-D and the popcorn and you’ll enjoy their wonder at the flashy stuff happening on the big screen. And two hours later, no one will remember a thing.
Although, there is a certain purple tank top that I’ve not forgotten yet.
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