Race to Witch Mountain Review

Tuesday I took my best friend's 10-year-old grandson, Hunter, to see Race To Witch Mountain.  I owed him a movie because I took his younger sister Halie to see the Hannah Montana Movie.  He chose this movie and by the time we were able to squeeze it in with his baseball practice and banjo lessons we got a date.  Fortunately for me it had already left the big theaters and gone to the multi-cinemas and games complex where every movie is $2.00 every day!

I had seen previews for the movie and knew I also wanted to see it.  I could vaguely remember the older movies EscapeTo Witch Mountain (1975) and Return From Witch Mountain (1978) and then remade in 1995.  I didn't go into this movie with any preconceived ideas of how the movie should turn out.  I wasn't even trying to recall the older movies and compare them.  I became a fan of Dwayne Johnson when I saw him in Game Plan and I knew he would be an excellent performer in this movie as well. 

The leading cast to Race To Witch Mountain is:

• Dwayne Johnson as Jack Bruno
• Anna Sophia Robb as Sara
• Alexander Ludwig as Seth
• Carla Gugino as Dr. Alex Friedman
• Ciaran Hinds as Henry Burke
• Tom Everett Scott as Matheson
• Garry Marshall as Dr. Donald Harlan

If you watch the movie you will also see the original actors who played the orphans Tia Malone (Kim Richards) and Tony Malone (Ike Eisenmann) make a cameo appearance.

Jack Bruno is an ex-convict gone straight who now drives taxi cabs in Las Vegas.  The movie opens with him dropping off and picking people up at a sci-fi convention at Planet Hollywood.  Bruno is a skeptic when it comes to this sort of thing so when Dr. Friedman gets in his cab they begin to have a discussion about UFOs, aliens, etc.  She has dedicated her life to researching life on other planets, alien life forms, and so forth.

After leaving the Planet Hollywood Jack Bruno realizes he has two stowaways in his taxi.  Sara and Seth need him to take them to an abandoned house in the middle of the deserts in Nevada.  He questions their sincerity to pay and whether they are running away.  When they hand him a wad of cash totalling $15,000 the journey begins.  At some point the kids adopt a dog and name him Junkyard and there are a few cute moments with the dog.  Sara and Seth need to find their spaceship so that they can return to Witch Mountain.  Unfortunately, when the spaceship crashed a group of bad people overtook it and turned it into an experimental lab with one goal in mind: To capture the kids and destroy their world.  Sara and Seth have found something on Earth that they believe will make their world live on if they can only get back before it's too late. 

Along the way they will encounter a lot of bad people.  Bruno has someone trailing him, Matheson, and Henry Burke is trying to get the kids.  Race To Witch Mountain is a powerhouse of fast cars, crashes, fights, aliens, and mystical powers.  Once the action begins it doesn't stop and apparently that is all it takes to keep a 10-year-old's interest.  Hunter was glued to the screen and taking it all in.  After seeing this movie I immediately thought of Jasyjen and Laurie and thought that their boys would probably love this movie.

A Siphon begins pursuing Bruno and the kids.  The Siphon has the ability to annihilate anything that is in it's view and it's main conquest is the kids.  You will have to watch Race To Witch Mountain to discover the following:

• What is Dr. Friedman's role after she is dropped of at Planet Hollywood?
• Why is Matheson after Bruno?
• Why does Mr. Burke want to capture Sara and Seth?
• What are the children's magical powers?
• What happens to the Siphon?
• Will they make it to Witch Mountain?

I loved seeing Anna Sophia Robb as Sara.  If you may recall she also played Leslie Burke in Bridge To Terabithia.  She is so soft spoken that who she is in real life contrasts the character she portrays.  Because of his wrestling profession, the Rock, and his movie roles, Dwayne Johnson has an appeal to young and old alike and he's not so bad on the eyes either.  Garry Marshall plays Dr. Harlan and has been trying to find Witch Mountain for some time so he gives all his information to Bruno and the kids and they are on their way.

Some memorable quotes from Race To Witch Mountain: 

Sara: My brother and I, we're not from your planet.
Jack Bruno: Well, you don't look like aliens.
Sara: What's an alien look like?
Jack Bruno: You know what aliens look like! They're like little green people with antennas, and "Take me to your leader, Earthlings!"

Jack Bruno: You do know how to fly this thing, right?
Seth: How did you think we got here?
Jack Bruno: Well, you crashed, remember?

Jack says this to himself: Don't go down the pimped out refrigerator Jack

If you are into adventure with some sci-fi and fantasy then you will love this movie.  There is some mystical parts but it's not as involved as say Lord Of the Rings or the Harry Potter movies.  My family won't allow the kids to watch either of the aforementioned movies because of all the wizards and sorcery but after having watched Race To Witch Mountain I don't think they would have a problem with it.