Race to Witch Mountain Film Review

1 hr. 38 mins.

Starring: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, Carla Gugino, Tom Everett Scott, Ciaran Hinds, Christopher Marquette, Cheech Marin, Garry Marshall

Directed by: Andy Fickman

MPAA Rating: PG

Rating: ** stars (out of 4 stars)

The generically pap-ridden Race to Witch Mountain may be considered passable escapist family fare with a touch of sci-fi flourishes that may satisfy some kids without discerning tastes but sensible youngsters will consider this light-headed, flabby fable as passe in transparent spirit. Surprisingly, climbing this Mountain is no great shakes given the thinly veiled script, lackluster special effects, cliched situational dilemma and harboring a manufactured imagination that wouldn't surpass a conceptual doggie-shaped water balloon. Although occasionally snappy in its impishness Race to Witch Mountain stalls convincingly and becomes tediously routine as the wooden-paced action unfolds.

Director Andy Fickman ("The Game Plan") oversees a flat kiddie sci-fi adventure that goes through the predictable motions. There's nothing distinctively compelling about the foundation of the story aided by the aforementioned shoddy effects and by-the-dots editing that make Mountain retain its indistinguishable feel in movement and motion. The casting is decent enough to convey the likable factor even if the material is notoriously slight. The child actors (AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig) are charming and armed with enthusiasm. The film's lead Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is capable thanks to his usual swagger and self-deprecating mode that won him fans the world over courtesy of his former colorful persona as an ex-professional wrestler. Still, Johnson (who was directed by Fickman in "The Game Plan") and his young co-stars cannot overcome the blandness that annoyingly persists in this faceless kid-friendly fantasy.

Naturally some older movie fans (and well-informed tykes for that matter) are well aware that Race to Witch Mountain is based on the Alexander Key book "Escape to Witch Mountain". In return, Key's playful publication spun-off into a couple of successful Disney movies in 1975's Escape to Witch Mountain (conveniently of the same name) and 1978's sequel Return to Witch Mountain. Curiously, Race to Witch Mountain pales in comparison to its predecessors of yesteryear even though Fickman's contemporary edition has the benefit of advanced millennium-style technology in filmmaking techniques. However, one wouldn't realize this revelation with Race's inexplicable skimpy look that is accompanied by a scattershot script.

Put-upon Vegas cabbie Jack Bruno (Johnson) meets up with supernatural teen siblings Sara and Seth (Robb and Ludwig) as he assists the adolescent aliens in locating their lost spaceship in the desert. In the meanwhile, determined and dastardly FBI agent Henry Burke (Ciaran Hinds) is in hot pursuit of the chiseled cab driver and his mysterious mop-top passengers.

With attractive Dr. Alex Friedman's (Carla Gugino) assistance, Jack and his human-looking extraterrestrial charges must find Witch Mountain, a governmental facility in the Nevada desert where they all could figure things out while hoping to pinpoint the kids' spacecraft that can carry them back to their imperiled planet. Of course it is in the best interest for Jack and Dr. Friedman to see that Sara and Seth get to their destination as this failure to do so may spell trouble for an ominous invasion on Earth. It doesn't help their cause that the pesky Burke and his bothersome bunch look to complicate things further with their continual interference.

In short, Race to Witch Mountain feels aimlessly wayward in that the undisciplined structure and gimmicky set-up never quite gels in the movie's cheesefest proceedings. The characters are busy roaming around in a yellow cab as they are monotonously chased by the cartoonish sinister authorities-something that may be considered a lame and dismissive premise even in a carefree kiddie caper designed to captivate youths. In an era where even sophisticated animated feature films are setting imaginative standards for originality in content Race to Witch Mountain comes off as a live action Disney-oriented dud that feels inconsequential in comparison.

Undeniably, Johnson is charismatic and can be very resilient when being utilized comically. His presence in Race, however, gives off a clunky vibe because the film never is slick enough to support his smooth, cocky, and affable on-screen presence. Both Robb and Ludwig hold their own with Johnson but the chintzy narrative fails them all. Cameos by actor/filmmaker Garry Marshall as an instructor/teacher and comedian Cheech Marin as a car mechanic are thrown in for additional measure of needed chuckles. Cleverly, Race employs the services of former child stars Ike Eisenmann (as a sheriff) and Kim Richards (as a waitress) from the original Escape film where they played the gifted super-powered teens in the 70s.

Cockeyed car chases, concocted action sequences that look out of date, unconvincing sci-fi platitudes, the obligatory government nemesis, dank and dingy underground laboratories, bargain basement UFOs and aliens-all are needlessly strained and convoluted. In the long run, one would be advised to walk slowly and sluggishly, not race hurriedly, to the so-called new and improved findings at weak-kneed Witch Mountain.