At the end of December, I saw Escape to Witch Mountain (which I remember bits of from when I was younger) and Return from Witch Mountain back to back and very much enjoyed the first movie, but not so much the second. Anyway, seeing those movies made me a little more excited about seeing this new one, Race to Witch Mountain come March.
Now the movie is finally here and I saw it. It's a remake, not a continuation, and as expected, it's pretty much a Dwayne Johnson vehicle more than it is a story about some alien kids. And though it has violence, it's pretty family friendly. It's also not nearly as good as Escape to Witch Mountain. That movie was about a pair of kids with special powers on a journey to find out who they are and where they came from. This new one on the other hand has some alien kids here on a mission with Johnson's character, a taxi driver, caught up in helping them out. Throw in Disney's style, Carla Gugino, and some bad guys in pursuit, both alien and human, the latter of which is of the U.S. Miliatary variety and you've got yourself a pretty basic movie. It's not bad, but it's not great either. I'll admit though that it is fun and exciting in places, and I did like Carla Gugino in this movie more than I did in last week's Watchmen. She plays a washed up astrophysicist who's trying to peddle her UFO research at sci fi conventions in case you're wondering. I was also happy to see the actors who played the original kids make cameo appearances. If you've seen the original and enjoyed it, I suppose this one is worth checking out just to see what's been done with the franchise.
Anyone else see Race to Witch Mountain?
IMDb Entry
Trailers
One more thing I have to add... There was a scene with a reporter and I thought to myself... That's Natty Gann! I of course recognized her as the actress who played the title character in the 1985 movie, The Journey of Natty Gann. Then the reporter finished her piece by saying "This is Natalie Gann reporting for XXXX News" or something to that effect. I thought that was a nice touch.
Now the movie is finally here and I saw it. It's a remake, not a continuation, and as expected, it's pretty much a Dwayne Johnson vehicle more than it is a story about some alien kids. And though it has violence, it's pretty family friendly. It's also not nearly as good as Escape to Witch Mountain. That movie was about a pair of kids with special powers on a journey to find out who they are and where they came from. This new one on the other hand has some alien kids here on a mission with Johnson's character, a taxi driver, caught up in helping them out. Throw in Disney's style, Carla Gugino, and some bad guys in pursuit, both alien and human, the latter of which is of the U.S. Miliatary variety and you've got yourself a pretty basic movie. It's not bad, but it's not great either. I'll admit though that it is fun and exciting in places, and I did like Carla Gugino in this movie more than I did in last week's Watchmen. She plays a washed up astrophysicist who's trying to peddle her UFO research at sci fi conventions in case you're wondering. I was also happy to see the actors who played the original kids make cameo appearances. If you've seen the original and enjoyed it, I suppose this one is worth checking out just to see what's been done with the franchise.
Anyone else see Race to Witch Mountain?
IMDb Entry
Trailers
One more thing I have to add... There was a scene with a reporter and I thought to myself... That's Natty Gann! I of course recognized her as the actress who played the title character in the 1985 movie, The Journey of Natty Gann. Then the reporter finished her piece by saying "This is Natalie Gann reporting for XXXX News" or something to that effect. I thought that was a nice touch.
