Race to Witch Mountain

Released: 2009

Reviewed: 11.1.09
Star rating: 4 out of 5

Dwayne Johnson (Jack), AnnaSophia Robb (Sara), Alexander Ludwig (Seth), Carla Gugino (Alex), Ciaran Hinds (Burke), Tom Scott (Matheson), Chris Marquette (Pope), Billy Brown (Carson), Garry Marshall (Harlan).

In this remake of Escape to Witch Mountain, alien siblings Sara and Seth find themselves crash landed on Earth, their ship confiscated by the government who is also trying to capture them, and a soldier from their home-world hunting them. Befriended by cab driver Jack and UFO expert Alex, they desperately try to find their ship so they can escape Earth alive. Sara and Seth from the original movie, Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, make cameo appearances.

This seemed a bit more goofy than the original I remember but I was pretty young when Escape to Witch Mountain came out. The plot seems a bit different as well but, this film reminded me why I liked the original when I was a kid. With their cool powers things just seem to work out for Sara and Seth the way you would want them to work out. Just enough danger to make it exciting but they never really get hurt. I enjoyed the plot with this one, it was simple and never tried to be more than it was. The bits of humor kept the film from being brooding and helped the plot move along nicely.

Acting was good all around. I was particularly impressed with Johnson who has come a long way with his acting skills. Robb and Ludwig delivered well while Gugino and Hinds both brought good energy around their parts.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were all nicely done. Special effects were minimal and tastefully done adding to the overall quality feel of the film. Dialogue and sound were good as well.

Overall this is a great family movie and for those who saw the original as kids this can bring the same type of story to their kids. Mild violence and a mean space alien but otherwise there isn't anything to limit audience age.