Directed by: Andy Fickman
Premise: A remake of Escape
to Witch Mountain. A cab driver (Dwayne Johnson) escorts two
human-looking extraterrestrials (AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig) to their
spaceship while they are pursued by a rival alien and by government agents.
What Works: Race to Witch Mountain is
intended as a light science fiction action adventure for children and family
audiences and with that goal in mind the film mostly succeeds. It has near
constant action and maintains a sense of fun and adventure, similar to Men
in Black or Flight
of the Navigator. Whatever success the film has is mostly due to the
casting of child actors AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig as the teenage
extraterrestrials. These two performers are definitely actors to watch for in
future projects.
What Doesn’t: Much of Race to Witch Mountain is just barely competent. Although Dwayne Johnson is a likeable actor, he is not
given much to do here except shuttle the teens back and forth. The story is
nothing extraordinary and walks though predictable alien visitation scenarios
seen in Men in Black and The
Day the Earth Stood Stillwithout adding anything new. There are lots of
dropped characters and extraneous plot points, sending the film on tangents that
don’t go anywhere. The biggest blunder of Race to Witch Mountain is the
subplot of a violent, rival alien intent on killing the teens and stopping them
from completing their mission. In most scenes the creature looks like it walked
off the set of a 1950s drive-in science fiction film and the story does not play
up the threat or the pursuit, instead opting for the creature to show up
unannounced when it is convenient for the story. The rest of the special effects
of the film are not particularly good either, even by the standards of
television, much less a feature film.
Bottom Line: Race to Witch Mountain isn’t much of a race; it’s more like a stroll through science fiction clichés. The film may be entertaining to young children but that’s about it.