In 2008 Brendan Fraser starred in Journey to the Center of the Earth, a goofy but likable version of Jules Verne’s tale. Now comes a sequel of sorts, although Fraser is nowhere to be seen. His nephew from the first film, Sean (Josh Hutcherson), returns as the central character, a brash teenager who believes he has received a coded message from his grandfather in the South Pacific, and urgently wants to find him. Sean’s mother has remarried, and Sean’s stepfather, Hank (Dwayne Johnson), agrees to accompany the boy to Palau, not believing that they will find any trace of the grandfather.
Of course, this being a kid’s adventure story, events quickly spiral out of control and before you can make a popcorn run Sean, Hank and their helicopter guide (Luis Guzman) and his comely daughter (Vanessa Hudgens) are stranded on a mysterious island. Yes, THE mysterious island, and within a few minutes they are rescued from a large, angry lizard by Sean’s grandfather (Michael Caine), who has lived on the isle for several years, and who radioed Sean his message hoping that they could unveil the island’s secrets to the world together.
The visual effects are pretty well done, all things considered, and presented in 3-D with lots of elements poking or flying into the camera. The characters are basic stereotypes but quite likable. An immediate antagonism emerges between Johnson and Caine, and enlivens much of their dialogue until they learn to respect each other. Caine seems perhaps miscast, and overacts accordingly, but the former Rock seems right at home in this environment. Johnson not only stars, but produced the film and even displays a genuinely nice singing voice, too. He is truly developing into a movie star. Hutcherson, currently seen in The Hunger Games as Peeta, essentially glides through the movie without much effort, and Vanessa Hudgens is quite fetching. Luis Guzman is there for comedic relief, which is sometimes rather painful.
Where the movie falls short is logic. It simply isn’t believable that a teenager would suddenly, with the help of Johnson’s knowledge of morse code, be able to decipher three maps to learn the location of the island; that any stepfather would take his son to a mysterious island in the South Pacific on such a basis, or at all; that once there Johnson would know that the island is sinking just by tasting the water; that giant bees could be ridden; that they would find Atlantis; that Captain Nemo’s submarine The Nautilus would be at their disposal; that… well, you get the picture.
This movie cannot be taken too seriously, and it really could have done without Johnson’s pec-popping, yet it is quite engaging and, most of the time, enjoyable. Its story involves many literary references, which is a plus, and it is often clever and humorous. As a family-friendly adventure, it’s not bad at all. ✰ ✰ ½. 10 April 2012.