Things That Parents Need To Know
Parents should know that this sequel to 2008's Journey To The Center of the Earth stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and will immediately show strong appeal among kids and parents. Positive examples on family bonding, fatherhood, bravery, and self-sacrifice and strong role models abound. While not as intense as the first film, parents should still use a little bit of caution for the films' adventure action, which could end up scaring younger children.
Review
Journey To The Center of the Earth was a hit with families, will this sequel be any better, especially when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has replaced Brendan Fraser?
Journey 2 fast-forwards a few years after the original Journey, in which Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) has been caught by the police a couple of times and his mom (Kristin Davis replacing Jane Wheeler) has re-married to a former Navy soldier, Hank (The Rock). But on his last escapade, Sean retrieved some Norse code signals, in which Hank translates as "the island is real". Sean immediately realizes what this means, as it was a signal sent by his grandfather (Michael Caine), who had been looking for Jules Verne's supposed "mysterious island" (in which he wrote about) for years. With Sean seeking to find his grandfather and the island, Hank thinks this would be the perfect opportunity to bond with his step-son. Flying to Hawaii, the two find geographical coordinates by combining three maps from three different stories which are written about the same island, and soon hitch a ride with Gabato (Luis Guzman) and his daughter Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens) on their helicopter. Right before they hit the coordinates, a category 5 hurricane wrecks their helicopter, crashing onto....the mysterious island!!
This action adventure boasts impressive special effects (which would be great in 3D) and positive examples on family bonding, bravery, fatherhood, and self-sacrifice. The cast is great, and the story continues to stay close to its Jules Verne reference. The action sequences are amazingly well-done, and the film boasts strong role models in Sean, Hank, and yes, even Gabato. The Rock not only acts in this film, but he also co-produces and even sings too. Midway through the film, we hear a hilarious rendition of "What A Wonderful World" by him, and in the end credits, we hear a fully-recorded version of the song by him. For someone who multi-tasks between acting and boxing, I think The Rock would do just fine on Broadway or in a movie musical.
Journey 2 has very little to complain about. While not as intense as its' predecessor, the adventure action scenes and computer-generated creatures still might be seen as scary for younger kids. There are no double-entendres or suggestive jokes, but Kailani still wears a cleavage-revealing tank top, and Sean stares at her for a minute (they later kiss once). While he is funny sometimes, Gabato still tends to give off a couple of light toilet humor gags, and while the film's PG rating lists "brief mild language", the strongest dialogue would be one or two uses each of "heck", "crap", and "freakin".
For me, Journey 2 was a bona fide thrill ride, an exciting, action-packed, and fun adventure that I was just excited about the whole way through. Its' also free of most anything offensive, so family audiences won't hesitate to board the next helicopter.
All-Time List
#11: Up
#12: Spy Kids
#13: Cats & Dogs
#14: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
#15: The Lion King
#16: Dolphin Tale
#17: Finding Nemo
#18: The Muppets
#19: Spy Kids 2
#20: Beauty and the Beast
POSITIVE VS. NEGATIVE Summary:
Positive Negative
--Examples on family bonding, --Tame romance
self-sacrifice, bravery, fatherhood. --Few scary scenes.
--Great special effects
--Great story
--Strong role models.
--Stays close to Jules Verne
reference.
Outcome: Very Positive
