Race to Witch Mountain (2009)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Andy Fickman

Writers (WGA):

Matt Lopez (screenplay) and
Mark Bomback (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 March 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The Race Is On

Plot:

A Las Vegas cabbie enlists the help of a UFO expert to protect two siblings with paranormal powers from the clutches of an organization that wants to use the kids for their nefarious plans.

Plot Keywords:

Las Vegas | UFO | Alien | Spacecraft | Mountain

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Dwayne Johnson	...	Jack Bruno
AnnaSophia Robb	...	Sara
Alexander Ludwig	...	Seth
Carla Gugino	...	Dr. Alex Friedman
Ciarán Hinds	...	Henry Burke
Tom Everett Scott	...	Matheson
Chris Marquette	...	Pope
Billy Brown	...	Carson
Garry Marshall	...	Dr. Donald Harlan
Kim Richards	...	Tina
Ike Eisenmann	...	Sheriff Antony
Tom Woodruff Jr.	...	Siphon
Paul Darnell	...	Siphon (Stunt Double)
John Duff	...	Frank
Bob Koherr	...	Marty

Also Known As:

Witch Mountain (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sequences of action and violence, frightening and dangerous situations, and some thematic elements.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #45110) | UK:PG | Australia:PG | Singapore:PG | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Ireland:PG | South Korea:12 | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-11 | Hong Kong:IIA | Chile:Y7 | Portugal:M/12 | Brazil:12 | Mexico:A | Argentina:Atp | Peru:PT | Sweden:11 | Japan:G | Netherlands:9

Filming Locations:

Agua Dulce, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Meredith Salenger plays reporter Natalie Gann. Salenger made her film debut as Natty Gann in The Journey of Natty Gann (1985).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The Taxi in the movie is a Ford Crown Victoria. On multiple occasions when viewing the inside, you can see that the speedometer/gauge cluster are of an later model Chevrolet.

Quotes:

Jack Bruno: [Rushing out of the gambling area] Gotta go!
Dr. Alex Friedman: What happened to laying low?
Jack Bruno: Who lays low in Vegas?

Movie Connections:

References Bullitt (1968)

Soundtrack:

I'm No One Else

One of the better Disney Films

An update of an old, beloved Disney film, "Race to Witch Mountain" is smarter than it trusts itself to be. After an excellent setup, the movie becomes bogged down in chase scene after chase scene on its way to its inevitable ending. Former wrestler-turned-action movie star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays Jack Bruno, a Las Vegas cabbie with a shady past. While dealing with freaks and geeks during a UFO convention, he tells his former Mafia connections that he's gone straight and won't be their wheelman. He then finds two strange kids in his cab. Sara (AnnaSophia Robb, looking like a young and untainted Lindsay Lohan) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) don't really hide the fact that they are not of this world. They are on a mission that is crucial both to their home world and to ours, and Bruno gets pulled into a plot that tests his driving skills and his loyalty to the kids. The first third of the movie clips along at a good pace and doesn't talk down to the kids or the adults in the audience. Then the chases start. It's true that dialogue-light action scenes help movies earn international box office, but when they're not integral to the plot they feel like filler. Such is the case here. Whenever a chase scene starts, the plot stops. Luckily, all these action scenes in "Race to Witch Mountain" are competently put together, so it feels like the story is moving even when it isn't. Ultimately, as with '50s science fiction, the military leaders are the villains because they act without thinking of the bigger picture. In this case, both the Earth and the other world are in jeopardy, and it's up to the kids (with the help of The Rock) to save both of them. Not a bad message.