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DIRECTOR Brad Peyton CAST Josh Hutcherson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Vanessa Hudgens The follow-up to Journey to the Center of the Earth features troubled teen (Hutcherson) searching for his eccentric grandfather (Caine) on a spectacular fantasy island inhabited by giant bees, pocket-sized elephants and other wonders. How to get off it is the problem. Pure escapist fun for all the family. (2012 USA 94 minutes) AUDIO DESCRIPTION AVAILABLE - Please contact the cinema in advance This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This follow-up to 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth begins when young Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson, reprising his role from the first film) receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist. It's a place of strange life forms, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes, and more than one astonishing secret. Unable to stop him from going, Sean's new stepfather Hank (Dwayne Johnson) joins the quest. Together with a helicopter pilot (Luis Guzman) and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter (Vanessa Hudgens), they set out to find the island, rescue its lone inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island under the sea and bury its treasures forever. BBFC advice: Contains mild adventure action Further Parental Advice “Few films could offer the twin cinematic glories of Michael Caine riding a giant bee and The Rock flicking berries off his bulging pecs. Yet this winning family affair boasts both…as well as Luis Guzman tumbling into a gigantic gooey egg and an active volcano that spews out molten gold. Cheekily mashing up loose takes on the legends of Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson and even Jonathan Swift, director Brad Peyton carries on the good work accomplished in 2008’s Journey To The Center of the Earth. Josh Hutcherson’s back as Sean and this time he’s joined by stepdad Hank (Johnson) grandpa Alexander (Caine, channelling Colonel Sanders), zany helicopter pilot Gabato (Guzman) and his foxy daughter Kailani (Hudgens). They’ve washed up on the Mysterious Island after following a code transmitted by shipwrecked Alexander and deciphered by Sean and Hank, who just happens to have worked in comms in the American Navy. It would be an island paradise…if it wasn’t inhabited by giant centipedes, huge bee-eating Needletails and the fact the water level is rising, threatening to drown the island…which is also home to the lost city of Atlantis. Attractively free of cynicism, this is appealing Saturday matinee fare boosted by the ever-reliable Johnson, who’s game enough to launch into a cheesy version of What A Wonderful World on a ukelele. The effects – while impressive – aren’t designed to send smaller sprogs sprinting for the exit; just check out the chase set-piece on giant bumblebees and the panicky retreat from an incensed mammoth lizard. Ultimately, it’s a good-old fashioned action romp – there’s no mystery about it.” UK RELEASE 3 February 2012 RUNNING TIME 94 minutes COUNTRY USA |
