Is “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” Any Good?

Dean — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:24:05 +0000

Dumb as it is, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), starring Dwayne Johnson, is a fairly palatable family film. Or . . . at least it would be if beautiful Vanessa Hudgens (ah, that jet black hair!) in her tank top didn’t lend the movie too much sensuality. Luis Guzman plays her oafish father, and his affectionate attitude toward Hudgens’s character, Kailani, is thoroughly phony, unconvincing.

All the same, nifty CGI adventure scenes proliferate: a giant lizard, a tiny elephant, etc. It’s not as good a film as Sky High, but it has its moments. Kids will love it. Teenage boys, frankly, will love that tank top.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 15: Actors Vanessa Hudgens (R) and Josh Hutcherson arrive for the world premiere of 'Journey 2: The Mysterious Island' at Village Cinemas Jam Factory on January 15, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Re a Critic’s Response

Dean — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:22:17 +0000

Critic Ross Douthat has panned Damsels in Distress in National Review magazine (May 14, 2002). He writes, “If the world of Damsels . . . isn’t the real one to begin with, then how much can we care about the characters’ struggles to build up their own equally unreal alternatives?” I suppose the answer is that we can’t care about these struggles–but it doesn’t matter. We know Violet is eccentric; we care about the values she endorses, such as self-improvement. And we care about those messages and implications I mentioned which filter through in the basically tame world Stillman has created.

The Hip Opinion

Is “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” Any Good?

Re a Critic’s Response