Race to Witch Mountain (2009)

"Don't go in the pimped out fridge Jack...", 23 August 2009

We hadn't had a family movie night at our house in several months. So when the idea came up, I naturally let my 6 year-old pick the movie (I, on the other hand, picked the pizza.) His pick – Race to Witch Mountain. I'll be honest, neither my wife nor I were terribly excited about his selection. As we popped it into the player, we both settled in fearing for the worst. Instead, the whole family had a great time with the film. It's not a masterpiece, but I don't think that's what the filmmakers were going for. Instead, Race to Witch Mountain fun-filled ride full of special effects and loud explosions thrown at the viewer at break-neck speeds. There are really very few opportunities to catch your breath, which is probably a good thing. If you spent too long analyzing just what's going on on-screen, it probably wouldn't have been as enjoyable. The plot involves Jack Bruno, a cab driver trying to make a break from a shady past, who discovers two kids in the back of his cab. As he soon learns, these aren't ordinary kids. These kids are aliens (the outer space kind) and they're on a mission to save not only their planet, but Earth as well. Howver, it seems that everyone is after Jack and the kids. Secret government agents, Jack's former crime boss, and an unstoppable alien assassin are all out to make sure the kids don't find their ship. Sure, it lacks some of what made the 1975 original (which I don't think I've seen since 1975) so memorable, but it makes up for it with some terrific CGI effects, humor, and outrageous action sequences. The acting was okay. No one looked terrible. Dwayne Johnson, whose wrestling persona The Rock seems to be a distant memory these days, isn't too bad. He's definitely got a screen presence to him. The rest of the cast is fine. My son especially enjoyed Carla Gugino who he immediately recognized from the Spy Kids series. There are a few really cool cameos from the likes of Cheech Marin. But the absolute coolest for an old guy like me was seeing Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, the kids from the original Escape to Witch Mountain, with bit parts in this re-imaging. So overall, we enjoyed Race to Witch Mountain. Go into it with an open mind (and a good pizza) and you're family just might find a wonderful night's entertainment like we did.

7/10