Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)

Mildly entertaining but predictable. Characters are fairly flat and not terribly likable. But if an island cycles between periods of being above water and submerged, how do the animals come back? Plants I understand, but not those types of animals. Also, the logic behind that mechanism doesn't work. Not at all.

The writers and producers of this film were smart enough not to have Dwayne Johnson play the role of Brendan Fraiser. Sean, the son, is back and lives with his mom and step-dad in teen prison, known as Dayton, Ohio. Dwayne is intelligent and understanding. When Sean gets a cryptic message, Brainiac Dwayne Johnson helps him decode it. Sean wants to go to the Island and find his grandfather, who he thinks sent the message. Dwayne, who is trying to connect with Sean, decides to humor him and very quickly into the film, we are at Mysterious Island.Luis Guzmán plays a local helicopter pilot who along with his pretty daughter Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella Montez of High School Musical) are capable of getting the foursome stranded on the Island. Once they meet up with Michael Caine, there is some ridiculous rivalry dialouge that doesn't fit well into the film. The special effects were good. The humor and story was aimed at the kids who enjoyed the picture far more than their parents with some scenes being downright juvenile. Sean, of course, has a thing for the island girl, who plays hard to get. All this is going on while the volcano blows smokes and oozes lava.Some cheesy fun. 3D effects...unfortunately bounce right at you.No F-bombs, sex, or nudity, Pure PG goodness. Good one for the kids (pre-teen and younger). WARNING: Dwayne Johnson sings

This movie tries to adapt to the cinema the sci-fi novel "The Mysterious Island" by Jules Verne and, at the same time, be a worthy sequel to the movie "Journey to the Center of the Earth". However, despite assuming itself as a sequel, is also renewed in that both actors and characters, as well as technical team, director and screenwriters are different from the previous one. Only Josh Hutcherson remained, repeating his character but without mention of what happened to him before. Its a sequel that makes a new beginning, not properly a continuation, although its evident that everything happens after the facts occurred in the first film. The story is also brand new, but there are a number of similarities to the previous film. As before, it revolves around Verne's literature, assuming that its real, not just fiction. And just like in the first film, two guys (one of them with problems of teenage rebellion) will face the adventure next to an attractive beauty (do feminists, who are always criticizing everything, do not think this is misogynist?). The script, however, is also woefully similar to that of "Journey to the Center of the Earth," not having been able to correct it's errors: basic and far-fetched, it's full of clichés and runs over science in favor of dramatic effect. Here too there is a lot of silly and unbelievable things. Cinematography is good and the fast pace that the action takes, coupled with its short lenght, helps to make it enjoyable. In summary, it's a light and funny adventure movie with a painful plot that we easily forget.If in the first movie most of the actors were, for me, perfect strangers, it does not feel so obvious here. Josh Hutcherson retained his role, as I mentioned, and is joined by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who, surprisingly, showed some dramatic ability in the role of an overprotective stepfather (although his image still remains, at least for me, too clingy to a lot of muscles, gross as a rock). This actor is clearly trying to do the same path that Arnold Schwarzenegger did in the 1990s, humanizing his image and seeking to move away from the label of "Mister Muscle of Hollywood". Vanessa Hudgens is the sexy girl of the movie with an idiot father (Luis Guzmán) who are reserved the strangest jokes in the film. Finally, a note of merit for Michael Caine, a veteran always up to any role.

This is what it is, and for those few who don't know, that means it's high sci-fi adventure with plenty of thrills and great, likable, credible characters in an incredible situation on an island of giant creatures whose means of escape rely on the boat of the ill fated fictional Captain Nemo.This lives up to everything, mostly because of the comedy and the characters. Done much like RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK in the style of unbelievable adventure, it never fails to show us what a film is supposed to be.As I stated before, many films try this, but fail to be good films because they try too hard to shove hate down our throats, which unless one is a great writer, results in one dimensional characters.Here, we have some crazy characters, but none are one dimensional, and all have some degree of dignity. We can travel with them, and laugh with them, because this is a comedy more than anything. The wit is there. Everything is there. It's a joy ride. It isn't classic meaningful theater. It's a joy ride.