Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Luis Guzmán, Vanessa Hudgens and Kristen Davis.
Directed by Brad Peyton.
Released Feb 3 by Warner Bros.
A sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth but seeing as they don’t go to the center of the earth it’s just a 2nd journey.
I’ve not seen the first film as the trailer showed me that I didn’t want to watch a film with Brendan Fraser screaming inanely for a the millionth time. Seeing as he’s not in this and Dwayne Johnson is, I wasn’t adverse to the prospect of seeing the “people’s champion” scream inanely instead.
Dwayne Johnson has charisma in spades, he also puts the work into the parts he plays. The parts may not be too far out of his wheelhouse as they’re for the most part tough guy characters. Here in Journey 2 he’s playing the stepdad to Josh Hutcherson’s Sean (who’s essentially the only returning cast member) Sean is a “Vernian” which does sound like some sort of science/alien cult. These are people who believe that Verne was actually writing about actual places in his books. Needless to say he after getting a code from his missing grandfather he sets off to find him. Dwayne’s Hank goes with him in an attempt to bond with surly Sean and thinks that humouring Sean will get this Vernian obsession out of this system.
After hiring a helicopter, piloted by Guzmán and accompanied by his pretty daughter played by Vanessa Hudgens. They quickly crash on the Mysterious Island written about by Jules Verne and equally as quick find Sean’s granddad (Caine) They then must find their way off this island and survive its many perils. Can our heroes do this?
Being a family movie, what do you think?
Family movies are a tricky thing. They have to be bright and cheery enough for children to enjoy but not be trite to the point of being toothless for adults. Few make the grade of being a timeless classic and lots are just insultingly bad. Journey 2 does everything fairly well. The acting is fine and in the case of Michael Caine and Dwayne Johnson they treat the material with professionalism and enthusiasm. Guzmán gets the lion’s share of the comedic relief, Hudgens isn’t given a lot to do except look pretty, which she does with ease. Hutcherson’s Sean is the teenager you’d like to send to military school in the hope that he gets beaten with towels and soap. No critique of Josh’s acting just one of how his character is written.
Director Brad Peyton keeps things moving along and stages some exciting action scenes, he does seem to have taken inspiration from Avatar as 2 scenes match the action beats prettly closely. The effects are competent but you can tell that the budget is mid-range. The designs of the creepy crawlies and other creatures are more adult than cute. Which is good as a good family movie should have a bit of a fright then excitement as the heroes escape the perilous moment. Journey 2’s 3D could be good but I’ve only seen it in old school 2D. A lot of shots seem tailor made for the added dimension though.
Journey 2 is a perfectly fine family movie; it’s fun, moves quickly and doesn’t insult the adults. It may not be a classic but it’s no stinker.
7/10 (If you’ve a family, otherwise 6/10)
