‘The Rock’ holds fort with Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Posted February 2, 2012 by HALIDON in EntertainME

Every week VOX CINEMAS invites HALIDON to get a first look at what’s hot at the Box Office. This week we preview Dwayne Johnson and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

WIN a copy of the movie’s poster signed by the cast….Here

Opening credits

A teen and his stepfather team up to find the boy’s grandfather and a lost island.

Pulp

Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) loves adventure. It could mean driving crazily around the town escaping the cops or searching for clues to find his grandpa (Michael Caine) who’s been missing while searching for Jules Verne’s elusive Mysterious Island. What’s irritating him is that his stepfather Hank Parsons (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) who wants to bond with Sean as a father while trying not to discipline him all the time, is not too encouraging about his adventurous nature. This changes when they both unscramble a coded message sent by Sean’s grandpa that actually reveals the locations to the Mysterious Island.

Hank agrees to help Sean find his grandpa and the island hoping that this would help him bond with his stepson. With the help of a local tour guide (Luis Guzman), his rickety helicopter and his teen daughter (Vanessa Hudgens), the four find the island, meet the grandpa and embark on an extraordinary adventure that is great to watch on 3D.

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

End Roll

Having seen the trailer, I expected the film to be clichéd and predictable with some slapstick fare. But for some reason, though cheesy most of the times, I did enjoy the movie. There are many factors, 3D being the main one. The island, its inhabitants and many scenes are shot in a way that will keep you upright in your seat through the movie.

The story is not much to go by. This is loosely based on Jules Verne’s book with the same name and makes use of numerous plot pointers from the book. However, the characters do provide a bit of respite. ‘The Rock’ Johnson is positively funny and there is something refreshing about just watching his huge persona on screen. It is a big relief that he is not as wooden as Arnold ‘The Terminator’ Schwarzenegger and manages to show his emotions well for such films. Michael Cain is wasted in the role, but I suppose he must have enjoyed working in this film that did not require much from him in terms of acting.

Josh did not capitalise his role well. I felt he went through the motions of his role not giving more than he could have. There are times when his face is so plastic it is almost as if he had a stroke. After so many films, it is a pity that he still finds it hard to emote for a simple movie such as this.

Dwayne Johnson with Director Micahel Caine on the set of Journey 2

Perspective

Am not gushing for this movie, but if you have finished exploring all the possible apps in the app stores, then maybe you could convince your friends to watch this one for the heck of it. But make sure you watch it in 3D.

Halidon’s Rating: