Race To Witch Mountain - Movie Review

Race to Witch Mountain - Movie Review

Race To With Mountain (Dir. Andy Fickmen, 2008)

The Movie "Race to Witch Mountain" is based on the book "Escape to Witch Mountain" by Alexander Key.

The plot: A Las Vegas taxi driver's life abruptly changes when he picks up two alien kids who crash-landed on Earth and need to get back to their ship.

Aliens are fun right? Race to Witch Mountain is about aliens landing on Earth and taking the form of teenagers with super powers. The Rock is Jack Bruno, a hapless cab driver, hired by the kids to take them to their ship, and in way over his head. The government’s after them, alien assassins are after them, and all they have is a beat up yellow cab with four bald tires. It’s an idea filled with opportunity for imagination. But it’s a Disney movie, so they’ve gone out of their way to realize it with as little creativity and innovation as possible. Creativity isn’t safe and for this movie, it’s more important to be safe than good. When a group of cops walk into a bar they must order a round of Frito pies. Not because it makes any sense, but because some parent in the audience might be offended if the movie shows anyone drinking beer. Guns on the other hand, apparently those parents have no problem with. If Race to Witch Mountain were an airline, it wouldn’t serve peanuts. 

WHAT’S GOOD?

The filmmakers wisely keep the retro tone of the book and earlier films while using state-of-the-art visual effects and movie magic. A lot of sci-fi movies have come along since Escape to Witch Mountain premiered in 1975 – see Star Wars, Close Encounters and E.T. And whileWitch Mountain circa 2009 won’t do anything to make us forget those classics, it’s good fun -- like welcoming back an old friend.

WHAT’S BAD:

There’s no complexity in sight, and the story isn’t given a lot of time to breathe. We barely get to know Jack Bruno before the kids have hijacked his cab and the whirlwind begins. A little more exposition and plot development would have been welcomed for those with an attention span beyond two minutes.

FAVORITE SCENE:

There are lots of first-rate action set pieces including a collision with a train and a chase through a Vegas casino, but the climactic spaceship battle can’t be topped. Kids are going to eat this sequence up.

BEST LINE:

After showing Jack her alien prowess for the first time by making various items in his cab float in mid-air Sara says, “you humans don’t move objects because you don’t develop your full brain capacity”. Bruno replies, “No, I don’t do it because it’s kind of creepy.”