DVD Review: Race to Witch Mountain (Two-Disc Extended Edition + Digital Copy): Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, Ted Hartley, Ciarán Hinds, John Kassir, Kim Richards, Meredith Salenger, Cheech Marin, Garry Marshall, Christine Lakin, Harry Murphy, Jr. Tom Woodruff, Tom Everett Scott, Bob Koherr, Andrew Shaifer, Beth Kennedy, Jonathan Slavin, Bob Clendenin, Greg Gardiner, Trevor Rabin, Andy Fickman: Movies & TV
DVD Review: Race to Witch Mountain (Two-Disc Extended Edition + Digital Copy): Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, Ted Hartley, Ciarán Hinds, John Kassir, Kim Richards, Meredith Salenger, Cheech Marin, Garry Marshall, Christine Lakin, Harry Murphy, Jr. Tom Woodruff, Tom Everett Scott, Bob Koherr, Andrew Shaifer, Beth Kennedy, Jonathan Slavin, Bob Clendenin, Greg Gardiner, Trevor Rabin, Andy Fickman: Movies & TV
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Loosely based on Alexander Key’s novel Escape to Witch Mountain, Race to Witch Mountain is not so much a remake of the 1975 film Escape to Witch Mountain as an entirely new film based on some key plot points from the former film. When two innocent-looking teens appear in Jack Bruno’s (Dwayne Johnson) cab and tell him that “we must travel in that direction,” Jack thinks it’s a bit strange, but shrugs it off and starts driving. Soon they’re being followed and chased off the road, but is it Jack’s past catching up with him or something much larger? Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) reluctantly confess that they are aliens from another planet, but Jack refuses to accept their statement until Sara starts moving things with her mind and Seth slips through the body of the car and deflects the SUV that’s pursuing them. Sara and Seth tell Jack that they must recover their crashed spaceship in order to save earth from being taken over by aliens, so Jack takes them to see Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino); a scientist who he met by chance and who believes in the possible existence of extra-terrestrials. While the four are initially wary of one another, Dr. Friedman provides some valuable contacts and they begin trusting one another out of sheer necessity. Soon they’re battling secret government agencies, heavily armed personnel, and even a cybernetic Siphon (that looks a lot like a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica) in a desperate attempt to gain access to the heavily fortified Witch Mountain and the crashed spacecraft. Action-packed car chases dominate the film (a bit excessively, in this reviewer’s opinion), but the acting and chemistry between actors is good as is the suspense and intrigue. Rated PG due to sequences of action and violence, frightening and dangerous situations, and some thematic elements. (Ages 9 and older) –Tami Horiuchi
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Still from Race to Witch Mountain (Click for larger image)
A Series of Chase Sequences To Witch Mountain,
By Flap Jackson “Sky Is Burning, But At Least We… (State Road, NC) -
This review is from: Race to Witch Mountain (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Taking all the roles Vin Diesel wishes he could have, The Rock/Dwayne Johnson has made quite a name for himself as that likable tough guy, which ‘Race’ seems to lean on, even though Johnson is often less than charming as he was in “The Game Plan.” In fact, characterization and/or story sort of lacks, and most of the movie feels like filler until the next chase sequence. Sure, there’s some genuine funny/cute moments, but most of the movie is either been there, done that, or ‘that’s nice/cool.’
But in the end however, despite its many faults, and probably mostly due to the likable kids in the movie, the movie turns out to be enjoyable, if not entertaining. If you’re looking for a little excitement in your family film, then this is a fine choice for you. Otherwise, it’s neither here nor there, until you somehow find yourself there, and it somehow winds up being good. It’s also nice to have a Tom Everett Scott sighting.
Real Score: 3.5
Watchable, but that’s about it,
By C. R. Swanson “wilybadger.wordpress.com” (Phoenix) -
At the store yesterday I bought a copy of the classic movie Tron. It’s still got a paper-thin plot, and the SFX are aged, but, damn, I love that movie! David Warner for the win!
Along with the DVD came a little coupon for a free ticket to the movie Race to Witch Mountain, which is basically a remake of the 1975 film, Escape to Witch Mountain (funny side note: one of my friends said once he knew he might be gay after seeing the character of Tony in that movie). I remember the movie myself. I watched it quite a bit when I was a kid, whenever it wa son TV (for you youngun’s out there… this was in the days before DVDs and barely in the days of VHS. If you wanted to watch a movie, you had to wait until it was broadcast).
I heard about this new version and had zero interest in seeing it. Then I got the free ticket and thought, eh, what the hell.
So now I’ve seen the film and I call it… mediocre. The SFX are quite good and Dwayne Johnson is very charismatic (I’m surprised his movie career hasn’t taken off more, but I think it helps that he’s no longer calling himself The Rock). But otherwise, this is nothing special.
The film tells the story of two aliens who apparently are unable to pilot a starship into orbit and instead conveniently crash in the Las Vegas area. Sooper sekrit guvmint sp00ks track this crash and start tailing the aliens, who now look like normal kids and have stowed away in the back of a taxi being driven by Johnson’s character. Stuff happens, the government proves to be omniscent, omnipotent and omnipresent (if only the real government functioned like that), the kids make all sorts of pretentious remarks, I yawn and look at my watch.
This wasn’t a bad movie, really, and it was nice to see the original actors from the first movie back again in something other than just a little “Oh, look who it is!” cameo. But the story was weak, the government agents implausible and the less said about the acting aside from Ciran Hinds and Dwayne Johnson the better (Alexander Ludwig is most notable here as an “actor” whose primary talent seems to be standing around looking attractive and desirable to the readers of Non-Threatening Boys magazine. In this, at least, he succeeds admirably).
I’ll grant the original Witch Mountain movies weren’t any great shakes, but they were at least somewhat better than this warmed-over drek. Don’t waste your time.
Amusing SF ,
By wiredweird “wiredweird” (Earth, or somewhere nearby) -
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Race to Witch Mountain [Theatrical Release] (Theatrical Release)
You’d think a Las Vegas cab driver had seen it all, especially with that UFO convention in town, right? Almost right, until two solemn children show up in his car. They have a wad of cash that they don’t seem to understand very well, an urgent need to reach some desert destination, and a schoolbook way of speaking. It seems as legal as anything in Las Vegas and the money’s green, so they’re off.
So, a moment later, are the government goons in their black SUVs, in hot pursuit. The kids turn out to be something pretty special. The big bad gov guy calls them “illegal aliens,” without stating just which laws they broke or just how alien. Then the chase is on with a few extras thrown in, like a killer robot and the only UFOlogist in the world who actually has a clue.
There’s plenty of action, a bit of bloodless violence, some ominous but ambiguous threats against the kids, and a steady stream of one-liners to keep the mood from getting too grim. Maybe this isn’t one for the ages, but it provides some popcorn entertainment where no one gets killed and everyone keeps their clothes on. Enjoy!
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