Journey 2 The Mysterious Island - Movie Review

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzman and Kristin Davis.
Directed by Brad Peyton.

★★½

You know those simulation rides at theme parks, the ones that put it on the big screen, and maybe it's in 3D, and it moves your seat around like you're actually flying or racing? That's what the Journey movies are like. 90 minutes of rides, with awkward human crap in between.

Josh Hutcherson is back as a Vernian, a big Jules Verne fan, but instead of going with uncle Brendan Fraser, he goes with stepdad Dwayne Johnson to visit the Island, where his grandfather supposedly disappeared. They fly to Palau and charter a helicopter ride to the coordinates, flown by a nerdy pilot (Luis Guzman, in kid-movie-acting mode) and his "spunky" daughter (Vanessa Hudgens).

They have to fly through a hurricane to get to the Island and so they crash. But it isn't long before they find the grandfather (Michael Caine), and they figure the only way to get off the Island is to find Captain Nemo's submarine, parked on the other side.

The plot's irrelevant, and more often than not, the characters behaved in ways that I don't think anyone would in real life if this was truly happening to them. The point is to get them from one adrenaline-pumping situation to the next, whether it's running from a giant lizard or flying on the backs of giant bees, and those sequences are fun to watch.

This is more for kids than adults and my kids enjoyed it. For the adults, you have the invaluable Michael Caine, who elevates anything he's in. It's fine. But if you have a $3 theater near you that has 3-D screens, you might want to wait until then to take the family.