Writer: Mitchell Wong

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Watch this if you liked: “Journey To The Centre of The Earth”, “National Treasure”

If you like travelling to lost islands, facing extreme danger and getting down-and-dirty, "Journey 2" would be a good choice to pick as an option for entertainment. After the death of his father and the disappearance of his grandfather, Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) is tired and wary of the men in his life. After being caught by the police for trespassing and property destruction, we see him being rescued by his stepdad, Hank Parsons, whose role is played by former WWF superstar, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in a replacement role for Brandon Fraser.

It appears that Sean broke into a satellite facility in order to receive a series of codes which Sean believes are sent by his grandfather, portrayed by two-time Academy Award winner, Michael Caine. With the help of his stepdad, Sean set out to the deciphered location of his grandfather - The Mysterious Island.

There they meet a dubious tour guide, Gapato, played brilliantly by Luis Guzman and his beautiful daughter, Kailani (Vanessa Hudgens). Sean is instantly attracted to Kailani, and eventually he receives advice from Dwayne Johnson's character in a hilarious scene where we are shown Dwayne's signature chest-popping moves.

After their helicopter is brought down by a thunder storm, the group realize that they have found the island that they have been searching for. The movie progresses much like a National Geographic episode with eye-opening scenes of nature and the various dangers in the mysterious island such as walking through a field of large eggs and encountering an enormous killer lizard before being rescued by Sean's grandfather. Then, it becomes a race against time as the group tries to get off the island before it sinks by finding Captain Nemo's infamous submarine. As you can see, the movie makes a lot of references to classic novels, so fans of literature are likely to enjoy this movie more.

The movie is not all action and adventure, with character development scenes such as how Sean learnt about Hank's childhood and the kind of great man that he is. We even get to see a big man like Dwayne playing on a small banjo while singing Frank Sinatra's 'What a Wonderful World'. The chemistry between characters are unexpectedly good, such as the banter between Josh and Vanessa which obviously ended with a kiss. Personally, the most entertaining character in this film is definitely Luis Guzman, who even went as far as to kiss the back of Dwayne's bald head, and getting away with it. Added with the presence of Vanessa Hudgens as one of the cast, this movie is definitely one that left me wanting more at the end.

Cinema Online, 19 January 2012