2012 MOVIE REVIEWS: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

I always felt bad for any movie released in January or Febuary, because, the way I see it, no matter how good the movie is, nobody remembers it come Oscar season. 2012 seems to be a great year for movies, even though I’ve only seen one film so far, that being Journey 2.

Now I’ve never seen the original ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’, but you don’t really have to. The story basically centers around Sean Anderson, played by Josh Hutcherson, (who’s mainly here to warm up for ‘The Hunger Games’) who gets a message from his grandfather (played by Michael Caine) that The Mysterious Island that Jules Verne wrote about is real. So he goes to the island with his stepfather played by Dwayne Johnson, a tour guide played by Luiz Gunman, and his daughter played by Vanessa Hudgens (the latter of which is sexy and she knows it.)

The story is sub-par to say the least. Especially with characters constantly coming up with loopholes to try to give sense to plot twists. But what really makes this movie is the visuals. Trust me when I say that this movie is well worth the extra money it costs to see in 3D. Throughout the film, the monsters will pop out at the audience, giving me a good scare. Like I said before, movies released early in the year get less Oscar buzz than if they came out later in the year. Not that the film is Best Picture worthy, but it would be nice to see it nominated for Art Direction, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects, all of which are strong with this movie.

All in all, this movie might not have much to offer from a story point of view, but it’s a fun experience that you might enjoy if you keep an open mind. A word of warning: DWAYNE JOHNSON SINGS.

Think about that.

**1/2