Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

A fun-filled journey

English (U)
Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Dwayne Johnson, Vanessa Hudgens, Michael Caine,
Luiz Guzman
Director: Brad Peyton

A sequel to the surprise 2008 hit, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Journey 2... suffers from a weak script, lack of character development and an overdose of CG. It is definitely not meant for all, but is specifically for kids, with its 3D thrills and underage humour.

The film begins some years after the first film, Sean (Hutcherson) trying to access a signal broadcast is arrested by the police and sent to his step-father, Hank (Johnson). Sean and Hank decode the words in the broadcast, which are co-ordinates to a mysterious island.
Sean believes that his grandfather, Alexander (Caine) is stranded on this island and convinces Hank to join him. Sean and his father travel to a tropical paradise and hitch a helicopter ride with Gabato (Guzman) and his daughter Kailani (Hudgens), who Sean develops a crush on.

The foursome meets Alexander, not before crash-landing into the mysterious island and what follows thereafter is a template straight out of adventure films. There are surprises, such as the discovery of Atlantis, a gold volcano, tiny elephants and a ride on a giant bee. What takes the cake is Sean and Hank who succeed in charging a defunct submarine, using a giant electric eel as bait.

Brad Peyton has done a great job in making the sequel as good as the original. If one ignores the inadequacies, Journey2... is a great family entertainer.