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JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLANDMovie Reviews
Family adventure about young Sean Anderson's quest to find a mysterious island and rescue its lone inhabitant before it disappears under the sea. Cast:Dwayne Johnson, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Michael Caine, Luis GuzmanDirector:Brad PeytonRelease Date:February 10, 2012DVD Release:June 5, 2012From:New LineRating:PGLength:1 hr. 34 min.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island played to fair reviews. • Tom Keogh wrote in the Seattle Times, "...an overall decent cast trapped by a boring script with a greater emphasis on gimmicks (bird-poop jokes) than wonder or suspense." • And Stephen Whitty wrote in the New Jersey Star-Ledger, "I swear some of the giant, Day-Glo vegetation had 'Property of 'Lost in Space'?' stamped on it." More Reviews Below...
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island Positive Reviews (43 Reviews, reviews below)
Lesley Messer, People: MODERATE(cg) "The 3-D is impressive and Dwayne Johnson draws laughs, but the predictable plot and heavy-handed nods to Jules Verne make this a bit of a drag for grown-ups."(See all of Lesley Messer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 44 words, 02/09/12
David Germain, Associated Press: WEAK(cg) "...the presence of actors as good as Caine and Guzman only highlights how dreadful and dumb the banter is... If only the movie had the hint of a brain."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 678 words, 02/09/12
Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "...lamebrained, fantastical... The group flies on giant bees and walks on lizard eggs, yet the 3-D just magnifies the phony visuals.... For kids only."(See all of Mara Reinstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 63 words, 02/09/12
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "...moderately zany.... The movie flies by pleasantly, and is then instantly forgettable. Perhaps Jules Verne can explain the science of that."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 302 words, 02/10/12
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a thoroughly family-friendly film, with a subtle message about the importance of father figures.... a mild escapist treat."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 378 words, 02/10/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It isn't a 'good' movie in the usual sense... but it is jolly and good-natured, and Michael Caine and Dwayne Johnson are among the most likable of actors."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 784 words, 02/10/12
Glenn Kenny, MSN Movies: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a relatively inoffensive time, the weird bits involving The Rock doing comic relief notwithstanding -- these routines involve his pecs, cherries, and a ukulele; don't ask."(See all of Glenn Kenny's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 664 words, 02/08/12
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Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...young moviegoers will come out of this Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson family film with, at best, a curiosity about the classics and at worst a who-cares feeling..."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 347 words, 02/10/12
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: WEAK "...it's only disguised as fun. Take away the 3-D shots of berries bouncing off Dwayne Johnson's vibrating pecs, and you have a pretty scrawny experience."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 529 words, 02/10/12
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: POOR(cg) "...offers giant rocks clearly made of Styrofoam... writers Brian and Mark Gunn have created a script that's as compelling as an appliance manual."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 347 words, 02/10/12
Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...sometimes fun, though never enough to mask the movie's breathtaking lack of imagination.... the movie does have its moments."(See all of Bilge Ebiri's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 617 words, 02/13/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It isn't a 'good' movie in the usual sense... but it is jolly and good-natured, and Michael Caine and Dwayne Johnson are among the most likable of actors."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 784 words, 02/10/12
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...continues the weak Jules Verne-inspired adventures of 2008's 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'.... The film is endurable owing solely to Dwayne Johnson..."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 215 words, 02/08/12
Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star: POOR(cg) "...a wretched shipwreck of a film... abysmal dialogue... a membrane-thin plot... another Verne classic work is once again being mercilessly desecrated."(See all of Bruce DeMara's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 471 words, 02/10/12
Stephen Cole, Toronto Globe & Mail: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Director Brad Peyton has the potential to become a major comic director. If only he could make a movie from one of his own stories."(See all of Stephen Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 600 words, 02/10/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "There are a couple of decent action sequences, and the 3-D is nicely handled... it's an anything-goes funhouse disguised as an adventure movie. That's not a bad thing at all."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 172 words, 02/09/12
KEY CITIES (11 Reviews)
John DeFore, Washington Post: POOR(cg) "...as wondrous and exotic as a Hallmark Channel special... the action here consists exclusively of barely reheated sequences from better films..."(See all of John DeFore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 501 words, 02/10/12
Barbara Vancheri, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a wholesome family film that makes good use of 3-D and a likable cast and manages to put its characters in danger without ever scaring anyone."(See all of Barbara Vancheri's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 354 words, 02/10/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...an agreeable, scattershot affair combining notions from several of Verne's fantasy adventures with a 'Swiss Family Robinson' formula of puppy love and family bonding."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 219 words, 02/10/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: WEAK(cg) "...the effects are less than awe-inspiring.... I swear some of the giant, Day-Glo vegetation had 'Property of 'Lost in Space'?' stamped on it."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 564 words, 02/10/12
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: POOR(cg) "For a time, 'Journey 2' becomes a lost episode of 'Lost,' then it becomes 'King Kong,' minus the ape... you know what would have been nice, too? A script."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 333 words, 02/10/12
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: MODERATE(cg) "...an overall decent cast trapped by a boring script with a greater emphasis on gimmicks (bird-poop jokes) than wonder or suspense."(See all of Tom Keogh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 374 words, 02/10/12
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: WEAK(cg) "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..."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 377 words, 02/10/12
Tom Long, Detroit News: WEAK(cg) "...the dialogue is often stiff, the characters are one-dimensional, the story is completely predictable, and the 3-D mostly means things get hurled at the audience."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 310 words, 02/10/12
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The film's logic is cheerfully, carelessly faulty... the leaps of understanding as unlikely as the existence of a habitat that produces tiny elephants and monstrous spiders."(See all of Connie Ogle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 477 words, 02/10/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (11 Reviews)
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...continues the weak Jules Verne-inspired adventures of 2008's 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'.... The film is endurable owing solely to Dwayne Johnson..."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 215 words, 02/08/12
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: WEAK(cg) "...on to the clichés, which include Guzmán as a buffoonish native helicopter pilot, Hudgens as his tough-cookie daughter, and Caine as a shadow of his Cockney self."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 153 words, 02/09/12
Alison Willmore, Movieline: MODERATE(cg) "Johnson's disarming commitment to the doodle of a character he's playing isn't enough to inject life into the rest of the film, which is an anemic retread..."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 831 words, 02/09/12
Nick Schager, Slant: POOR(cg) "Rarely has a big-studio feature integrated real-world figures into artificial landscapes with this little grace... a whirligig of cheesy nonsense..."(See all of Nick Schager's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 432 words, 02/08/12
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "There are a couple of decent action sequences, and the 3-D is nicely handled... it's an anything-goes funhouse disguised as an adventure movie. That's not a bad thing at all."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 172 words, 02/09/12
Edward Adams, Atlanta Creative Loafing: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Full of baseline humor, teen angst, and family bonding moments... intense chases and thrill rides... a definite improvement in the franchise and definitely worth seeing."(See all of Edward Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 503 words, 02/15/12
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: POOR(cg) "Do you know what it's like to get shit on by a bird the size of an F-14? Now you do. LOL!... steals all its action sequences from far superior movies..."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 737 words, 02/06/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...the teenage boy is disgruntled, the teenage girl wears a tank top, the island locale rings with reggae music regardless of its proximity to Jamaica..."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 250 words, 02/10/12
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...it's only disguised as fun. Take away the 3-D shots of berries bouncing off Dwayne Johnson's vibrating pecs, and you have a pretty scrawny experience."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 529 words, 02/10/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Russell Edwards, Daily Variety: MODERATE "...mostly stop-and-go, alternating dazzling special effects with dull expository passages and flaccid character conflict... fun though rarely funny..."(See all of Russell Edwards's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 881 words, 01/17/12
Megan Lehmann, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "...a cornball ride through colorful, often glaringly phony sets popping with miniature elephants, gold-spewing volcanoes and a monster-truck-sized lizard."(See all of Megan Lehmann's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 765 words, 01/17/12
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times: WEAK "...it's only disguised as fun. Take away the 3-D shots of berries bouncing off Dwayne Johnson's vibrating pecs, and you have a pretty scrawny experience."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 529 words, 02/10/12
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...the teenage boy is disgruntled, the teenage girl wears a tank top, the island locale rings with reggae music regardless of its proximity to Jamaica..."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 250 words, 02/10/12
17.7 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island's reviews are separated by an average 17.7 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (43 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Journey 2: The Mysterious Island's reviews cover 84.6% of potential readers (average is 68.0%). Volume:The film's reviews total 19,725 words involume (average is 20,221 words). Length:The film's reviews average 459 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island Coverage, Volume & Length (43 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 13.8 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.3 Release)
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island's reviews on average broke 13.8 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.3 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Journey 2: The Mysterious Island's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (43 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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