First off, if you read my 2012 Movie Preview Blog, then you’ll recall that I was pretty annoyed that they were going to make this a sequel.  However, I haven’t seen Journey to the Center of the Earth since it came out in 2008, and I had forgotten that it wasn’t an adaptation of the Jules Verne’s novel, but claimed to be exploring the very “real” places that Verne had written about.  So, I was wrong, and this movie was great.

Dwayne Johnson’s movies are always good, and I think he’s a better actor than he gets credit for.  He’s funny and when you costar him alongside Michael Caine, you have a very well acted movie.  This is the fourth time that Johnson has been brought into an existing movie franchise (The Fast and the Furious, The Mummy, GI Joe) and with all do respect to Brendan Fraser, it is once again for the better.

The effects were amazing, and unlike the first movie, which was solely based on one Verne book, Journey 2 uses elements from several.  I really hope they do another.

While this movie won’t win any awards, it’s enjoyable and extremely funny.  I saw it in 2D, and don’t think 3D would make any difference, but there were a few scenes, like the “pec pop of love,” which were clearly designed to be seen in 3D.  Save the extra $4.50 for 3D if you can.

Thanks for reading!