Journey 2:
The Mysterious Island [3D] (2012)
The Mysterious Island [3D] (2012)
Brief review: This sequel to 2008's "Journey to the Center of the Earth" provides some mindless entertainment and has a mildly witty script with a couple of clever jokes and funny dialogues in it, but sadly, it feels rushed and forced from the very beginning, the execution is sub-par, and Brad Peyton's direction leaves a lot to be desired. Also, for a kids' adventure, the movie offers enough entertaining and nicely-shot action scenes, but it's not necessarily action-packed, nor is very exciting to watch. At least, "Journey 2" is pretty to look at. The island's CGI scenery is colorful and nothing short of breathtaking, with a very unique flora that features lush plants, bright, peculiar flowers and oversized fruits, and an even more bizarre fauna consisting of dwarf elephants, enormous bees and gigantic lizards. That being said, some of the sets look a bit too fake and don't really blend well with the stunning CGI background. The special effects range from super-cheesy to very impressive, and the 3D, while far from spectacular, works in the film's favor most of the time. The acting is by no means great, but the cast compensates with charm and charisma. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is engaging and likable as usual, Michael Caine can do no wrong, Josh Hutcherson does an okay job as Sean, Luis Guzmán's over-the-top performance is kinda funny, but annoying at the same time, and Miss Vanessa Hudgens is mediocre at best.
14 comments:
I wondered when I'd see a negative review. From the previews, this one just looked awful. (To me, anyway.)
Alex, a negative review from me or for the movie? :) Well, it's definitely not awful, but it wasn't that good either. It was mediocre at best, just like its star Vanessa Hudgens. Weirdly, all my friends that watched it with me in the theater liked it.
Mediocre at best?? I like that!
Rick, you do? Then this one is for you.
saw a hilarious video review on Cinema Snob's blog for Journey 2. The one guy thought it was fairly ok while the other one totally hated it, saying it's about as awful as Zookeeper or Mr. Popper :)
Maynard, I'm somewhere in between. I didn't think it was as bad as Popper, but hated the fact that everything happened the way it should in the easiest possible way. Zero intrigue. Just kids stuff. Meh.
I'm skipping this one as Mr. N's meh is pretty damning for This Guy. But half the movie was shot about ten miles from where I sit - with my pal Val on set bugging Michael Caine, and my chum Shaun in the production office - so I hope it makes scads of money so more movies come here to shoot. When Iron Man 3 wraps and frees up some studio space, that is. Enjoyed the review, Nebular!
Craig, if I knew it's this silly I would have skipped it too.
It's been shot somewhere near you? Wow, that's great. I doubt I would feel something like this, because the only 'big' Hollywood movie shot in my country was the latest Conan, but it must be a nice feeling to know that you're near the filming location. Thanks Craig, glad to hear that. :)
The trailer for this movie was pretty much as your whole review states the movie is - mediocre.
Alex, this is exactly what it was - mediocre. I didn't even enjoy the colorful visuals as much as I hoped for.
This looked like a pass from the get go. I do have to admit, you have the nicest way of saying a movie is 'mediocre at best'. You are definitely one of the 'Good Guys'.
I enjoyed this mainly because I am a huge Dwayne Johnson fan and my nephew and his friend were with me. It was brain candy, but I did love the pec popping. ;) Yowza!
farawayeyes, when I hate a certain movie, I'm not nice at all. I didn't hate this one, that's why I didn't say terrible things about it. :)
Mel, I'm a fan of Dwayne too, but the film was way too juvenile for my taste. There were a couple of very clever lines though. :) And the visual and 3D effects were okay.
You obviously enjoyed it a bit more than I did. :)
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