Let’s be real, there was a period where The Rock seemed physically incapable of making anything other than globe-trotting family adventures, during his “franchise Viagra” phase. Following his attempts to be an “actor,” the People’s Champion changed representation at the end of the 2000s and decided to embrace the fact that he’s an action hero who appeals to all audiences. And suddenly, things started to click, and we ended up getting banger after banger. This is just one of those surprise hits none of us saw coming.
Fourteen years after swinging into cinemas, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is suddenly exploring Netflix’s charts once again, having somehow resurfaced across several international territories. Dwayne Johnson (Moana) took over the franchise from Brendan Fraser as Hank Parsons, a new character; Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games) returned as Sean Anderson; and other cast members included Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) as Kailani Lage, Michael Caine (The Dark Knight) as Alexander Anderson, Luis Guzmán (Wednesday) as Gabato, and Kristin Davis (Sex and the City) as Liz Anderson.
The film follows Hank, who ends up reluctantly accompanying his adventurous stepson Sean on a mission to locate his missing grandfather after he intercepts a mysterious coded message. Their search ends up leading them directly to the legendary island first described by Jules Verne, and there they encounter miniature elephants, giant insects, enormous reptiles and a landscape unlike anything they’ve ever seen. One problem: The island is rapidly sinking back into the ocean, so the group needs to find a way to escape and get home before they all become part of the myth.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Was ‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’ a Success?
Oh yes, this was a pretty sizable commercial success compared to its predecessor. The sequel grossed approximately $335.3 million worldwide against a reported $79 million production budget, comfortably outperforming 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth. International audiences were particularly enthusiastic, contributing more than $231 million of the film’s global total and helping it top the overseas box office for three consecutive weekends.
Critics, however, were not quite as charmed. The film holds a 45% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a 41 Metacritic rating, with reviewers describing it as lightweight and formulaic despite praising its family-friendly sense of fun. However, as the box office proved, audiences responded much more warmly, awarding the sequel an A– CinemaScore.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is streaming on Netflix in selected territories.
