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Race to Witch Mountain

I love The Rock, no matter what name he goes by. Yes, his name is now Dwayne Johnson but he’s always going to be the all-around, smackdown people’s champ to me. He’s worked out fairly well as a movie star, even if he’s veered off from his action roots. Some of us (myself included) wish he would go back to films like The Rundown and Walking Tall and less The Game Plan and Get Smart. Race to Witch Mountain, even with its comedy, looks to put Dwayne Johnson back in those shoes.

This new Witch Mountain has The People’s Champ playing Jack Bruno, a down-on-his-luck former thug trying to make things right by driving a taxi in Las Vegas. Along the way, he runs into Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino), an astrophysicist who he drops off at a UFO Convention. He’s then met by two children Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) who give him a lot more than allowance money to drive them all the way out of Vegas and to an abandoned home. They’re chased by government agents (led by Hollywood’s go-to guy for this role, Ciarán Hinds) who all but destroy Jack’s taxi. Jack discovers, at the house, that the kids are aliens who have to find an artifact that will prevent Earth’s destruction. They’re then chased by an alien being called a Siphon, who wants the children dead so his side can invade the earth. It’s up to Dwayne, the kids, and Sally Jupiter to save the day.

For one thing, this film is surprisingly violent for a kid’s film. No one is raped brutally or blown up in a fire, but there are a lot of gun shots and cars are destroyed like it’s a demolition derby. This role also asks that The Rock beat people silly and while there where no Rock Bottoms or People’s Elbow’s, he does wonderfully beat two guys down using prop Stormtrooper guns. There are scenes where the Siphon wades through the government team with tons of explosions. There’s no blood (Disney doesn’t do that), but it’s not what’s normally expected from the House of Mouse. The action scenes themselves are thrilling, often actually giving the audience a sense of danger. The beginning and middle are the best examples of this, when the kids and Jack Bruno are being chased by the Siphon and are about to ram face to face with a train. Of course we know the outcome but the film tricks you into thinking they may not make it.

One of the joys of watching Dwayne Johnson as a rassler was his banter with the others, and dare I say it’s just as much fun watching him wit it up with Sam and Seth. AnnaSophia Robb is eventually going to be a great actress and here she does a great job playing off The Rock. The only time it feels like she’s over-doing it is at the end of the film, but more on that later. I wasn’t familiar with Alexander Ludwig until this flick and the boy didn’t fail to impress. Just like AnnaSophia, he holds his own with The Rock and never feels like he’s the typical over-the-top “too cool for school” type that most child actors tend to fall into. He’s protective, soft spoken, and has potential to be a future action star. The rest of the cast is serviceable, with Carla Gugino doing a solid job as Alex Friedman. It was surprising to see her a week removed from playing ‘a bloated whore’ into a geeky scientist but she makes the transition wonderfully. Ciarán Hinds is essentially playing his Agent Fujima from Miami Vice where all he’s required to do is give his lines in a tough manner, capture the kids, and foil The Rock’s plan. Where some actors become stereotyped, he’s starting to become the face of the “tough, quiet” FBI head honcho. Both cameos by Garry Marshall and Cheech Marin are a treat and I wish more had been done with the latter character. He could have been a good “sidekick” for Jack Bruno.

For all Race to Witch Mountain does right (which is a lot), it loses its steam toward the end. The film does follow a pretty basic formula but for most of the ride you don’t notice. What happens is Witch Mountain stops hiding the fact it’s sticking to the formula. It also stops making us feel like the characters lives are in danger, something it did so well for the first forty-five minutes of it. Sure, it should have been expected the film would end like it did but the rest of the film was so great at keeping the mask on. The ending to this gives us a predictable “life or death” scene, an escape, and a happy denouement. It’s Disney, so certain things have to be considered but I felt one scene was ripped right from The Matrix that didn’t need to be – and with shoddy visual FX. It stings because this is an otherwise good, fun flick.

But really, this isn’t going to matter to the market for this film: the kids. They will love it, and they should. It’s one of the best action-adventures out right now (that includes both adult and kid films) and has a perfect lead. The jokes are made for both kids and adults even if one reference is made for the parents in the audience. It’s really tough to hate this film, and most likely kids and adults alike won’t. It’s formulaic and does lose it’s mojo by the final frame and yet it’s still enjoyable. There’s thrills, excitement, and laughs to be had on the Race to Witch Mountain. Here’s hoping not only that it’s a hit, but that it returns Dwayne Johnson to his action roots next go-around.

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