Mar 12, 2009 6:03 pm US/Eastern
'Race To Witch Mountain'
Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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Really, there was nothing wrong with "Escape to Witch Mountain." Sure, the special effects look completely dated now -- the flying Winnebago with Eddie Albert at the wheel, for example.
AP
Really, there was nothing wrong with "Escape to Witch Mountain." Sure, the special effects look completely dated now -- the flying Winnebago with Eddie Albert at the wheel, for example.
But all these years later, the 1975 movie about an orphaned brother and sister with psychic powers still holds up as a solid action-adventure tale for all ages. What kid wouldn't want the ability to communicate with animals telepathically, or retaliate against a bully by magically making stuff hit him in the face?
This time, the kids are a little older, which depletes the story of some of its sweetness. And it's also harder to care about them because they're not really the ones driving the story -- they're literally passengers in what is essentially yet another family friendly vehicle for Dwayne Johnson.
The artist formerly known as The Rock stars as Jack Bruno, an ex-con trying to carve out a clean life as a Las Vegas cab driver. One day, alien brother and sister Seth and Sara (Alexander Ludwig and AnnaSophia Robb) mysteriously appear in the back seat of his car, produce a wad of cash and ask him to take them to an indeterminate location.
Their arrival there is crucial to the survival of their planet, they eventually explain in politely robotic English. But first, they must endure a series of repetitive and bombastic car chases, as they try to elude both government baddies (led by Ciaran Hinds) and an alien assassin on a mission to destroy them.
The film from Andy Fickman (who also directed Johnson in the football comedy "The Game Plan"), based on a script by Matt Lopez and Mark Bomback, is all noise and action, with none of the small charms of the original.
PG for sequences of action and violence, frightening and dangerous situations, and some thematic elements. 99 min.
One and a half stars out of four.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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