New Line’s 3D adaptation of Journey To The Centre Of The Earth in 2009 wasn’t a film that was very highly anticipated but was eventually received warmly with audiences rewarding the family adventure with health box office returns. Several years later and Warner Brothers have released a sequel, Journey 2 The Mysterious Island, which seems just as unwanted as its predecessor did prior to its release. Fortunately, lightning has struck twice with a colourful and fun excursion back into the world of Jules Verne.
Although the focus is on Verne’s The Mysterious Island, much of the enjoyment of the film comes from the inclusion of elements from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, From The Earth To The Moon and even jumping authors to include Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island . Like the first film this is a colourful, straightforward kids adventure that plays as both childish and silly for juniors and inoffensive and disposable for adults. The young Josh Hutcherson is effectively the film’s leading man and is also it’s weakest link. The rest of the ensemble cast are much more up to the challenge. The disparaging banter between Dwayne Johnson’s quietly likable hulk and Michael Caine’s curmudgeonly explorer is by far the film’s most entertaining element, the curvaceous Vanessa Hudgens has a character with bite and any film that can utilise Luis Guzman as much as this must be applauded.
Journey 2 is a solid family film with lavish production values and wildly variable special effects, best enjoyed by pre-teens.
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