Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
Warner Bros. Entertainment | Release Date: February 10, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
41
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
14
Negative:
8
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumFeb 8, 2012
The movie flies by pleasantly, and is then instantly forgettable. Perhaps Jules Verne can explain the science of that. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldConnie OgleFeb 16, 2012
The second installment in a likable family franchise, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island makes a nice case to your kids that reading books is a good idea. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigFeb 10, 2012
It's a thoroughly family-friendly film, with a subtle message about the importance of father figures. Don't expect anything resembling believability, but enjoy the blend of strikingly colorful visuals and banter between odd couple Johnson and Caine, which combine for a mild escapist treat. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen ColeFeb 9, 2012
Yes, The Mysterious Island is everything a 12-year-old boy could want – endless adventure involving a reckless adolescent hero, with a pretty girl in a clinging T-shirt around to watch him struggle. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertFeb 8, 2012
This is transcendently goofy. 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. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierFeb 9, 2012
If there's a book-loving adventuress or adventurer in your house younger than 10, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island provides a lighthearted break from the death-obsessed "Harry Potter" franchise and other literary but limp adventures like the "Narnia" films and "The Lightning Thief." Read full review
60
VarietyRussell EdwardsFeb 7, 2012
A fun though rarely funny family adventure whose lively special effects compensate somewhat for actors who largely sleepwalk through their roles. Read full review
60
EmpireNick de SemlyenJan 30, 2012
Massively throwaway, but funnier and more likable than the first entry. Mainly that's due to an A-list pairing that's as inspired as it is demented. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorAndy KleinFeb 10, 2012
For all the special effects – like its predecessor, this is in 3-D – the film coasts on Johnson being charming and Caine being Caine. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickFeb 10, 2012
With cheesy-looking effects including a ride on the backs of giant bees and dubious literary references, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island comes dangerously close to giving books, never mind 3-D, a bad name. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerFeb 9, 2012
This kind of movie is all about the special effects. They start out great - cool helicopter crash, very convincing giant lizard - but grow more amateurish as the film goes along, with a flight sequence on giant bees proving particularly clunky. Read full review
50
Boxoffice MagazineSara Maria VizcarrondoFeb 9, 2012
Surrogate fathers and family values are at the foreground, making the film a quick sell to parents - especially as it boasts the added value of literary roots. Read full review
50
MovielineAlison WillmoreFeb 9, 2012
This is a family movie, after all -- but you'll have to sit through some abrasively broad, unfunny exchanges to get there. Dialogue, alas, is the kind of thing that can't be enhanced by the wearing of 3-D glasses. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaFeb 8, 2012
The look of the film is impressive, as are the effects. Overall, however, it's a big, loud, 3-D-drenched jumble. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterMegan LehmannJan 30, 2012
As the band of adventurers skips from one supersized Survivor-like challenge to the next, one can't help feeling the creative potential of Verne's vision is wasted. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonFeb 9, 2012
The island locale rings with reggae music regardless of its proximity to Jamaica, and any action sequence is rendered in painfully deliberate slo-mo. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid FearFeb 9, 2012
Even "Bwana Devil" showed less crassness in its attempts to wow, however, and the more this cardboard blockbuster piles on the cut-rate F/X, the less anyone - the cast, the filmmaker, you - can muster up the energy to care. Read full review
40
TimeMary PolsFeb 9, 2012
It's silly enough that young teens are unlikely to be drawn to it unless they've got a thing for Hudgens or want to take an early peek at Hutcherson, who will soon be seen as Peeta in "The Hunger Games." He was great as a sulky brat in "The Kids Are All Right" but in Journey 2 he comes across as wooden, dull and though not yet 20, too old for roles like these. Read full review
40
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonFeb 7, 2012
The film is endurable owing solely to Johnson, a veteran of bad kids' movies whose sense of when to dial up the charm in such a generic, soulless entertainment remains impeccable. Read full review
38
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsFeb 9, 2012
Anyone old enough to have read Jules Verne or seen the way his work was successfully adapted in the past will suffer worse than the kids in the audience who just came to laugh. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisFeb 9, 2012
Even by the unambitious standards of some children's movies and many movies that star Caine, this one has a difficult time making a case for itself as anything other than an adventure in baby-sitting. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsFeb 9, 2012
Hutcherson spits his lines out as quickly as possible, which you appreciate, because the way the likable Johnson wrestles with his lines ("It looks like the liquefaction has tripled overnight!") you think, well, it's a living. Read full review
33
The A.V. ClubNathan RabinFeb 8, 2012
This adventure strands Johnson's famously animated features in eyebrow jail, and squanders his outsized charisma and gift for winking self-deprecation in a thankless worried-stepfather role. It doesn't call for much, beyond a lot of muscles and an ever-present look of concern for his whiny stepson. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovFeb 9, 2012
The result is a goofy-weird mishmash of some pretty swell CGI creatures and some downright lousy screenwriting. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliFeb 9, 2012
For a time, Journey 2 becomes a lost episode of "Lost," then it becomes "King Kong," minus the ape. Then it becomes a ukulele music video featuring the Rock's take on Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "What a Wonderful World." Read full review
25
Slant MagazineNick SchagerFeb 8, 2012
Prizes computer-generated wizardry above logical plotting or thoughtful character development, a misguided set of priorities exacerbated by the fact that said digital effects prove so chintzy. Read full review
0
Washington PostJohn DeForeFeb 9, 2012
The movie's flexibility with its own rules would be less noticeable if it were busy thrilling us. Read full review
More From This Movie

41 Critic Reviews

5.8 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL