JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND

Yes — and you can bring everyone. This is exactly what a family adventure movie should be: fast, funny, a little thrilling, and anchored by real heart. Michael Caine brings warmth and class as the missing grandfather, and Dwayne Johnson is unexpectedly tender as the stepfather trying to earn a teenager's trust — he even sings "What a Wonderful World" in a scene that lands better than it has any right to.

The action is plentiful but never intense: giant lizards, giant birds, a hurricane, a sinking island — thrilling rather than frightening, built for kids who want excitement, not nightmares. There's no foul language and no crude content anywhere in the film.

Underneath the spectacle is a story about a stepfather and stepson learning to become family. That message never slows the fun down — it deepens it. This is one you can watch together without a second thought.

Teenager Sean Anderson gets in trouble for breaking into a satellite facility — he was trying to decode a message from his missing grandfather, who claims to have found the real "Mysterious Island" from Jules Verne's novel. Sean convinces his skeptical stepfather, Hank, to help him track down the coordinates. What they find in the South Pacific is far stranger — and far more real — than either of them expected.

Four stars, and they're earned. This sequel improves on its predecessor by leaning even further into family-friendly thrills — younger viewers will find themselves excited rather than scared, which is no small feat for a movie built around giant creatures and a sinking island. The pacing keeps action, humor, and suspense moving together rather than competing.

Caine gives the grandfather real dignity and warmth, and Johnson's performance carries genuine heart alongside the comedy. The film knows exactly what audience it's for — pre-teens and their families — and never apologizes for it. Purists looking for harder science fiction may grumble, but the craft here serves its intended audience extremely well.

This is a film that exalts family — not as an afterthought, but as its actual point. A stepfather and stepson start the story at odds and end it bonded by shared danger and shared trust. A grandfather's love pulls the whole adventure into motion. The film also carries a strong, positive view of America and Americans, treating home and country with respect rather than cynicism.

There's nothing here to distort or strip away — no innuendo, no despair, no mockery of family or faith. The one mild content note, a first kiss between two teenage characters, is handled with restraint: nothing salacious, nothing lingered on.

What this film understands, without ever preaching it, is that family is worth crossing oceans and outrunning volcanoes for. Scripture says the same, more plainly: "And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6). A stepfather earning a son's trust, and a son learning to receive it, is that turning in miniature.

This is a movie you can hand to your kids without a second thought — adventurous, funny, warm, and genuinely about something. Caine and Johnson both bring more heart than the material strictly requires, and the payoff is a story that celebrates family without ever getting preachy about it. Our answer: worth the trip.