Watch: First Trailer For JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND

And here we go! Part 2 of the family oriented popcorn JOURNEY franchise begins its marketing quest to bring in viewers. As far as trailers go, I like them to first introduce characters effectively and then throw them into turmoil. I don't think this trailer succeeds, but more on that later.

Here's the storyline:
The new journey begins when young adventurer Sean (Josh Hutcherson) receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist--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 (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.



Director: Brad Peyton
Writer: Richard Outten
Studio: New Line Cinema
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson
Release: February 10, 2012

There is simply too much turmoil in this trailer right from the get-go. I want to know these characters more to be attached to it. How do they explain the lack of Brendan Frasier? How did The Rock get involved? Too many questions.

I was waiting for the real reason why Dwayne Johnson was in this movie (I wasn't quite buying that he was some sort of expert in saying that the island was going to blow) and it wasn't really provided until the end of the trailer. Bouncing a berry off of his chest is pure gold. Pure gold Jerry!

Brendan Frasier eat your heart out. Not a complete fail for a trailer (the effects look half decent) but c'mon. Characters please.

First Glance: Set Photos From JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND!!

Got some brand spankin' new behind-the-scenes photos from Brad Peyton's sequel to JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. Warner's JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND stars Dwayne Johnson, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens and the fine character actor Luis Guzman. It just so happens that we have shots of all of them via Comingsoon.

Click on the images to enlarge...

Here's the movie's storyline:
Josh Hutcherson will reprise his role as young adventurer Sean Anderson in this follow-up to the 2008 worldwide hit "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D," the first live-action film ever to be shot in digital 3D. Dwayne Johnson stars as Sean's stepfather, Hank Parsons; Michael Caine as Sean's grandfather, Alexander Anderson; Vanessa Hudgens and Luis Guzman as a father-daughter tour guide team; and Kristin Davis as Sean's mom, Liz Anderson.

The new journey begins when Sean receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist — 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 joins the quest. Together with a helicopter pilot and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter, 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.

Interesting casting choice with Dwayne Johnson - he is along the same mold as Brendan Fraser when it comes to comedic relief. Fraser has that outstanding worldwide following though - can Johnson compete? We'll see on September 23, 2011.