Weekend
Director: Brad Peyton
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Josh Hutcherson, Luis Guzmán, Vanessa Hudgens and Michael Caine
Releasing in cinemas: 19 January 2012
Rated: PG
Even the
Nautilus turns up at this party
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
turns out to be a typical Jules Verne-style adventure/fantasy, wherein
a small band of travellers wander a strange land filled with
spectacular weird landscapes and are threatened by rampant giant
lizards, centipedes and high voltage eels. Aimed squarely at a young
audience with adolescent jokes, the film has as much hokum as adventure
thrills. It reminds of the early Walt Disney excursions into
Verne, with somewhat more sophisticated special effects thanks to CGI.
The story is a conglomeration of three children's
classics: The Mysterious Island
(Verne) Treasure Island
(Stevenson) and Gulliver's Travels
(Swift). Following on from the previous Journey to the Center of the Earth,
young adventurer Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) receives a coded
signal from an island which doesn't appear to exist. Rather reluctantly
his new stepfather, Hank (Dwayne Johnson) joins him to explore the
South Pacific trying to locate the mysterious island where Sean's
missing grandfather Alexander (Michael Caine) supposedly resides,
unable to escape.
They team up with lackadaisical helicopter pilot Gabato (Luis Guzmán),
and his vivacious daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens) to fly them in
Gabato's battered chopper to the supposed co-ordinates of the island.
No one else dares take them near this dangerous section of the ocean. A
whirlwind straight out of Oz conveniently dumps the foursome on the
lost island. It’s a place of great beauty, and dangerous insects, as
small creatures are made large in the strange environment.
They meet up with old Alexander, who takes them on a guided tour,
including the lost city of Atlantis. However it appears that long
before it's due, the island like Brigadoon, will sink to the bottom of
the seas again. A desperate search for the Nautilus (the submarine from
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) is their only hope of survival.
The mildly cantankerous, woolly-haired grandfather who’s full of good
intentions but slightly nutty, is cheerfully played by Michael Caine (Harry Brown), no doubt conscripted
to add gravitas to the proceedings. The experienced and fine actor
confidently traipses through the adventure. Dwayne Johnson (Tooth Fairy), a.k.a. The Rock, a
personable enough guy, has the greatest appeal as the hapless
stepfather, occasionally lapsing into nonsense as when he plays ping
pong with his chest muscles. He even manages a ukulele serenade of
“What a wonderful World” - Tiny Tim eat your heart out. You have to
smile, there's an end credit for Johnson's hairstylist.
The acting is rather perfunctory, registering
shock/horror at a blue
screen isn't really Oscar material. Then, the two young heart-throb
stars of the film, Vanessa Hudgens, and Josh Hutcherson, will have
their teen and pre-teen fans stomping their feet without having to say
boo. Hudgens of the High School
Musical movies, had a more demanding part in Sucker Punch. Hutcherson reprises
his role in Journey To The Centre of
the Earth (2008) alongside Brendan Fraser, and was more recently
seen in The Kids Are All Right.
Luis Guzmán tries a little too hard to be funny as the loopy helicopter
pilot, and doesn’t quite cut the mustard.
In the director’s chair, Brad Peyton (Cats
& Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore) keeps things moving
along, creating a quaintly old-fashioned fairytale gloss, in gentle
homage to the Jules Verne stories. The CGI monsters are a lively lot,
and generally the special effects work well. The birds and the bees
chasing through the skies are certainly effective in 3D.
Journey 2 has got the
lot, from the legendary city of Atlantis, the Nautilus with a deceased
Captain Nemo, to Michael Caine laughing as he rides a giant bumble bee.
The concept of small creatures becoming giant on the strange island a
hangover from Gulliver. Thunderous heroic music pushes the climaxes to
full bore. The visual backgrounds are well conceived, with a sprinkle
of exotic magic about them.
Having seen Journey 2 at its
world premiere, (waiting around 90 minutes for the movie to start as
the visiting stars were busy entertaining the screaming hordes outside
the cinema), I must report it was well received by the juvenile
audience. That popularity will no doubt be repeated at commercial
screenings over the school holidays.
John Bale