You might have seen TV trailers for Journey 2: The Mysterious Island which opened this week. It's a sequel to 2008's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, which I didn't see, but by all accounts was a real stinker.
So when the film company sent us tickets to see Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, I must admit that my expectations weren't exactly high. But I like sitting in the dark inhaling popcorn so we gave it a go.
And you know what - it was much better than I expected. Way better, in fact. It's a classic Saturday afternoon slice of the slightly stupid, just what every family film should be.
This journey is to a weird island where animal size is reversed. So you get elephants the size of teddy bears, and bees big enough to ride on. Which Michael Caine gleefully does.
Michael Caine riding a bee - now there's something you don't see every say.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island has the sort of plot that's best not examined too closely, as it's pretty preposterous. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson spends much of the film exuding dadly wisdom, solving codes and punching mega lizards. Then he bounces berries off his chest. At one point he sits down and has a little singalong with a ukulele. As you do.
It's a little bit Lost, a little bit Jurassic Park meets Gulliver's Travels, if Gulliver had really over-developed pecs.
Since there are moments of peril, it's a PG but not a terribly scary one. There are lots of animals unexpectedly roaring out of the screen, which my 8 year old found thrilling, but which might be too much for a sensitive six year old. All in all, it's the perfect film for school age children on a half term afternoon, and parents with a high tolerance level for daftness.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is out now in 2D and 3D formats
That sounds like just my kind of film! Not requiring too much intellect. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon :)
Posted by: Actually Mummy... | February 06, 2012 at 08:07 AM
I think that's exactly the attitude AM. As long as you don't take it too seriously, it's great fun.
Posted by: Joanne Mallon | February 06, 2012 at 09:06 AM
We too saw this at the weekend, and my boys really enjoyed it. Great way to spend a saturday afternoon.
Posted by: Emma | February 06, 2012 at 10:35 AM
I agree Emma, though they could have turned the heating up a bit at ours.
Posted by: Joanne Mallon | February 06, 2012 at 10:50 AM