Review of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) by Panta O — 28 Feb 2014

I just finished watching on my cable this science fiction adventure comedy directed by Brad Peyton. This is a sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth, and is based on another Jules Verne novel, this time The Mysterious Island. Very unusual cast stars Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzmán, and Kristin Davis. The story was written by Richard Outten, Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn, and the screenplay by Brian and Mark Gunn. This movie became a box office success with a worldwide gross of nearly $326 million, surpassing its predecessor, I think mainly because of the 3D technology.

The story is happening four years since the events of the first movie, and starts with the 18-year-old Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) involved in a chase with the police which ended with him driving into a swimming pool. His step-father Hank (Dwayne Johnson) arrives and later discovers that Sean had broken into a satellite research centre in order to boost the signal of a code he'd received by someone he suspects is Alexander Anderson, Sean's grandfather who had been missing for two years. Wanting to bond with his stepson the next day, Hank helps Sean decipher the code of Jules Verne and makes a map from the three books in the coded letter with the coordinates to its location. All they need to do now is to convince Sean's mother to let the both of them go in search of the island.

This is a film with very likable characters and actors in an adventure which could excite the younger audience, but not too exciting for the older. It is moving quickly but parts of the story almost seemed unrelated at some moments. Directing seemed done without any motivation... that doesn't mean it was bad, but wasn't very noticeable. If you want to spend a night with a family watching something which is semi-sweet and very colourful, give it a go!