Movie review: 'Journey 2: The Mysterious Island'

Cast and crew err on the side of silly in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, the amusingly childish sequel to that unlikely 2008 hit Journey to the Center of the Earth. They've rendered Jules Verne's novel into a jokey lark, with corny wisecracks, comic sidekicks and everybody riffing on the ginormous lizards, humungous spiders and the like.

For those who have forgotten the conceit, the idea here is that while "most consider" the stories of 19th-century novelist Jules Verne "works of science fiction, Vernians know otherwise."

Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) certainly does. He lost his dad in Journey to the Center of the Earth. Now, years later, living with mom (Kristin Davis) and overcompensating stepdad Hank (Dwayne Johnson), the rebellious teen gets a coded radio message from his grandpa. Since contractor Hank used to be a Navy code breaker, they quickly realize that the message is "The island is real." That would be Verne's Mysterious Island.

That sets the stage for a stepfather-son bonding trip to the South Pacific, where they hire a low-rent chopper pilot (Luis Guzmán, funny) and his daughter, given a teen va-va-voom turn by Vanessa Hudgens, to take them there.

They find the place, all right. Along with grandpa, played by Michael Caine in Indiana Caine mode, a grizzled joker stranded in the jungle.

The movie is not Vernian or groundbreaking or smart or even that clever. This Journey is an action comedy for preteens, squeaky-clean and scare-free. There's not much here for grown-ups. But Johnson, the actor formerly known as wrestler "The Rock," makes a perfectly appropriate, perfectly adorable (he plays with his pecs, and even sings a ukulele ditty) baby sitter.