Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is an American 3D adventure film directed by Brad Peyton and the sequel to the 2008 film Journey to the Center of the Earth. Following the first film, the sequel is loosely based on a Jules Verne novel, this time The Mysterious Island.

The film stars Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzmán and Kristin Davis. The story was written by Richard Outten, Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn, and the screenplay by Brian and Mark Gunn.

Plot

Sean Anderson is caught by police escaping from a satellite research center where he was attempting to access a signal broadcast that was too faint to pick up outside of the facility. Escorted home by his stepfather, Hank Parsons, he eventually reveals that the mysterious broadcast he was attempting to access was a set of indistinguishable words that he is trying to decode. Hank, in an attempt to bond with his stepson, solves the code which tells them to look for Treasure Island, Gulliver's Travels and Verne's Mysterious Island and Sean suggest that they were all based on the same island. Hank then tears out each page with a map in each book and shines a light through them to make one map that reveals the islands co-ordinates. Sean believes that his long lost grandfather was the one behind the transmission, and that he has discovered the island. Sean and Hank immediately set out for the island of Palau. Both Hank and his wife, Liz, don't believe anything that Sean is convinced of, such as the fact that the Mysterious Island could exist and that his grandfather discovered it, but after Hank considers that this trip could help bring him closer to his usual anti-social step son, the couple decide it would be ideal. Once arriving at Palau, they board a private helicopter run by Gabato and his daughter Kailani, whom Sean immediately develops a crush on. The four travel to the co-ordinates until their helicopter is hit by a freak storm, causing them to crash on the island, where every big animal in the world is small and every small animal is giant (inspiring Jonathan Swift to write Gulliver's Travels). They are then chase through the forest by a giant lizard until they finally meet Sean's grandfather. He leads them back to his hut where they spend the night. Once it is determined that a radio signal for a distress call can only be sent once a fortnight, it is decided that the group will stay put until then.

The next day the five travel to the lost city of Atlantis, buried far back in the jungles. There Hank finds evidence to believe that the island is slowly sinking. It is revealed through Sean’s grandfather that the island sinks underwater once every 140 years or so due to shifting tectonic plates, and that they still have years before the next cycle begins. Hank’s recent discovery, however, shows that Sean’s grandfather’s calculations are wrong and that the island will sink in a few days. From there the group set out to Captain Nemo’s tomb, which contains his journal holding the whereabouts of the legendary submarine, The Nautilus, their only hope of escaping on time. Once the journal is uncovered, they set out towards Nautilus, encountering various obstacles in their path. Sean’s foot is dislocated after a dog fight involving a giant bird, and the group is slowed down. The next morning it is discovered that Gabato has left the group to return to a previously passed volcano of gold (inspiring Robert Louis Stevenson to write Treasure Island), which he believes is his and Kailani’s only hope of living a decent life. Kailani and Sean’s grandfather set out to find him while Hank and Sean continue to look for the Nautilus.

Once at the submarine’s entrance, the two are disheartened to find that the rising sea level has buried the cave underwater and that they must dive to where it is located. Using a simple breathing device, they manage to reach the submarine and open the entrance hatch, narrowly avoiding a nasty encounter with a giant electric eel.

Kailani and Sean’s grandfather eventually find Gabato and convince him to return to the submarine. Once there, they are distraught to discover that Hank and Sean are nowhere in sight. Unbeknownst to them, the pair are attempting to start the submarine, although the batteries are long exhausted. Hank devises a plan to use the eel to conduct enough electricity to kick start the Nautilus, and equipping a basic diving suit, exits the sub to confront the eel and throw a harpoon at it.

Once the submarine starts, they quickly travel to the surface and retrieve the other three. Six months later, Gabato is head of a successful tourism movement on Palau, and has enough money to send Kailani to the United States where she is dating Sean and attending college. At Sean's birthday, his grandfather gives him a copy of From the Earth to the Moon, and proposes another journey (to the moon), as a family. The film ends with Sean, Kailani and his family reading the book together, and a view of the moon.

Cast

Dwayne Johnson as Hank Parsons, Sean's stepfather.

Josh Hutcherson as Sean Anderson

Vanessa Hudgens as Kailani, Sean's love interest and a tour guide.

Michael Caine as Alexander Anderson, Sean's grandfather.

Luis Guzmán as Gabato, part of a father-daughter tour guide team.

Kristin Davis as Elizabeth "Liz" Anderson, Sean's mother.

Production

After the commercial success of the first film, Walden Media and New Line Cinema purchased Richard Outten's spec script, Mysterious Travels, in March 2009 to serve as the basis for the film. In the story, the characters embark on a journey to a mysterious uncharted island thought to have informed the writing of three literary classics: Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and Jules Verne's Mysterious Island. Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn were chosen to revise Outten's script.

In May 2010, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema announced that Journey 2: The Mysterious Island will release on February 10, 2012.

Casting

Brendan Fraser and Anita Briem will not return due to scheduling issues, but Hutcherson will reprise his role. Jane Wheeler also did not return to play Liz, Sean's mother and was replaced in the part by Kristin Davis. Dwayne Johnson will play Sean's stepfather who is forced to accompany Sean on the trip to find his missing grandfather, played by Michael Caine, on a mythical and monstrous island. In October 2010, it was announced that Vanessa Hudgens will play Hutcherson's love interest.

Filming

The film was filmed at eight locations on Oahu, Hawaii, but predominantly in various parts of Waimea Valley and Kualoa Ranch. Filming also took place in Wilmington, North Carolina from January 10 to February 10, 2011.

Short film

The theatrical release of the film is preceded by a Looney Tunes short film titled Daffy’s Rhapsody. The short features Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd in the first CG or 3-D depiction of these specific Looney Tunes characters. The short film's director, Matthew O’Callaghan, notes that “Daffy Rhapsody was originally recorded in the early 1950s as part of a kids’ album.”

Release

Box office

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island was released in Australia on January 19, 2012 where it grossed $2,002,193 on its opening weekend. On the same date in was released in Hong Kong where it grossed $1,058,670 and in South Korea $2,452,674 over a three-day period. It was released also in Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and United Arab Emirates on the same date. It was released in India on February 3rd. As of February 12, 2012, it has earned $74.5 million overseas.

In its U.S. debut, the film earned a strong estimated $6.5 million on its debut Friday, and an estimated $27.6 million over the weekend, coming in third place behind The Vow and Safe House. That was about double the amount analysts were expecting, and was a much higher debut than the original Journey to the Center of the Earth ($21 million). It is the second film in 2012 to cross the $100 million mark after Underworld Awakening..

Reception

As of February 10, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island has a rating of 43% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 70 reviews, with 31 positive reviews and 39 negative. The website's consensus is: "Aggressively unambitious, Journey 2 might thrill tween viewers, but most others will find it too intense for young audiences and too cartoonishly dull for adults". Lisa Schwarzbaum, a top critic form Entertainment Weekly said: "The movie flies by pleasantly, and is then instantly forgettable. Perhaps Jules Verne can explain the science of that". Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times said: "It isn't a "good" movie in the usual sense (or most senses), but it is jolly and good-natured, and Michael Caine and Dwayne Johnson are among the most likable of actors". Randy Cordova from Arizona Republic said: "Johnson can't save the movie, directed by Brad Peyton, from being a sloppy skip from one seemingly unrelated idea to the next".It also has a 78% audience approval rating. Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 1–100 reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 41 based on 14 reviews.

Source Youtube and Wikipedia

Posted in: 3D,Actions,Adventure,Drama,Feb 2012,Sequel