Every now and then, Disney Pictures come up with a movie that keeps children as well as their parents glued to TV screens. Race to witch mountain is one such flick which draws inspiration from a 1968 novel by Alexander Key and its two movie adaptations in the '70s — Escape to witch mountain and Return from witch mountain. Despite its variant inspirations, the latest version manages to create a separate identity for itself, since it has all the right ingredients of a good sci-fi horror — friendly aliens, an alienator and a muscle man with no idea of his next move!
The Andy Fickman-flick begins with a prologue about the mystery behind the Witch Mountain, a secret place in the middle of the Nevada desert, known for unexplained phenomena and strange (read UFO) sightings. It then focuses on the exploits of Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson), a cabbie with a shady past, who erroneously gives a ride to a couple of kids who seem lost.
Lost they are, but millions of miles away from their home planet, with an intergalactic assassin Siphon in pursuit. The reason they are sent to the earth is that their planet is dying and their government wants to invade the planet, something most of the folks on both sides don't want.
That's why the superhuman kids are sent beforehand to warn earthlings and save both worlds by unlocking the secret of the Witch Mountain — hence the Race to witch mountain begins.
Add supernatural abilities to the alien kids and you get 90 minutes of pure entertainment guaranteed. While the sister Sara (Anna Sophia Robb) has telekinetic and telepathic powers, the brother Seth (Alexander Ludwig) has the power to control his molecular density, yet becoming so dense that he gets invulnerable.
When Jack learns of their plan, he along with Dr Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino), a discredited astrophysicist, decide to help Seth and Sara evade Siphon and the government agents — led by the heartless Henry Burke (Ciarán Hinds) — to save not one but two planets. The film has amazing special effects which make it unbelievably fast-paced and engrossing. There is a lot of action during its entire run, ranging from car chase to spacecrafts chasing train, with one of them getting smashed into pieces.
The movie also pays homage to its roots by accommodating cameo appearances by Iake Eissinmann and Kim Richards, stars from the original two movies. Overall, the movie is an entertaining flick where Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson sheds his tough image to play a light hearted role, packed with generic one-liners like “Ive got a bad feeling about this!” Scenes involving the dog and The Rock provide light moments, bringing smiles to the young viewers and ultimately relief to their parents!
The good news is, if you look at the closing credits closely, you will see that a sequel is in the offing as well.
