a5c7b9f00b 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. In Las Vegas, the regenerated ex-con Jack Bruno works as taxi driver. During an UFO Convention at Planet Hollywood, the skeptical Jack picks up Dr. Alex Friedman, who will present a scientific lecture in the event. Then he is pressed by two henchmen of his former boss, the criminal Wolff, that wants to talk to him, but Jack does not want to return to the crime life. Jack fights and gets rid of them; out of the blue, he finds two teenagers on the backseat of his cab. They tell that they are siblings, Sara and Seth, and they need to travel to a location outside Las Vegas in the middle of nowhere. Meanwhile the government finds a spacecraft that crashed nearby Las Vegas and is chasing the two aliens; after the investigation of the men of Major Henry Burke, they discover that the two siblings are the aliens. Jack Bruno, Sara and Seth are chased by Henry Burke's team and by the "Syphon", a killer from outer space that has been sent to kill them by the military of their planet that want to invade Earth. Sara and Seth explain that they traveled to Earth to collect scientific data of an experiment and save Earth from invasion, but they need to return immediately to their planet. Jack teams up with Dr. Alex to retrieve their spacecraft in a secret base in the Witch Mountain. Every now and then a movie about innocents being pursued by evil while on a mission for the good of all comes out and we all have to accept it as what it is: a kid movie. This one is about kids, aliens, alien kids, dogs, The Rock and evil cardboard government agents and alien clone assassins.<br/><br/>I thought it was fun enough. Completely predictable, of course, but also fun, which is what these movies are all about. I like Dwayne Johnson and I really think he could do better as an actor. He does play well in this movie, though the emotional range of his character is epsilon.<br/><br/>Bottom line: nice family adventure movie, with aliens and kids. And dogs. Not alien dogs, though. So i was searching the local library for a DVD and i happened upon this title. Being a fan of Anna-Sophia Robb since Terabithia, it was inevtiable that i would pick this up. <br/><br/>Now, for the practical and technical review. <br/><br/>#1. Acting I was in no way shape or form attracted to the film by The Rock. Dwayne portrays your average, touchy, yet level-headed every day guy. His comedic timing with the humorous dialogue was on par, but nothing deep, moving, sensational, or definitive about his performance whatsoever. Anna Sophia Robb. Should I be commenting on Carla Guginno first? Nah. AnnaSophia played the role of Leslie in the film adaptation of the children's book Bridge to Terabithia. The film made me cry. Nuff said. This film, made me groan. The dialogue provded to her is limiting and stiff, giving her little chance to prove her potential. As some have said, they found her performance to be over-dramatic and whiny. This is not fair. She had a script and did her best with it ( though the perpetually worried look she sports throughout the movie is not pleasant). Shes the innocent, vulnerable girl, so what was she to do? The end scene, however, did nothing at all for her career. Shame, really. Shes a secondary character once more, so Im hoping her future project Dear Eleanor (under direction of the dude who brought us Princess diaries) will proide her some meat to chew on. Carla Gugino. The scientist in search of life on other planets. We recognize her from spy kids and Night at The Museum. She's merely there to provide a pretty face for Dwayne to drool over and to provide a "mother figure" for the aliens. Right. Prepare to be unamazed by her linear presence. Alexander Ludwig. Ummm, who? Well, he provided a strong, sharp, pretty cool character. His ability to control his molecular density was not over the top original, but hey, its something to look at. His dialogue is not unlike that of a computer owners manual, yet his facial features and expressions make up for it. I guess.... There was cameo i heard, though I recognized none. The Italian- new-york guy was rather amusing in his brief bit, thats all.<br/><br/>#2: Camera work. Hey, I saw everything I needed to see, so I'm happy.<br/><br/>#3 Sound. It's your usual big-fat orchestra soundtrack. Strings, horns, percussion, yadayadayada. Oh, and the vocalizing when the UFO flies over the mountain. Unique is the sound of Ciphons laser blasts. Besides that, its all so very boring for the ears..<br/><br/># 4 Effects. OK, why is there a jungle in the fridge> No, more importantly, why does the jungle look like a vegetated Costco with the old halloween decorations still lit and lying around? The alien is fine. Just fine. Scenes where people are knocked into the air and stuff are made to look pretty good, though the laws of physics are often disobeyed. Laser fire: not bad. Explosions: What else does a Hollywood explosion look like? AnnaSophia robbs telekinetic powers: they're alright. The scene where for some vague reason the bullets ricotchet off of our three heroes is just so..... horrible. Absolutely horrible.<br/><br/>Conclusion: I didn't mind it. Really. I didn't. The acting keeps you rather entertained with its polished mediocrity. The story line is perfectly simple for the childs mind. The violence is your typical shoot-the-alien-that-can't-be-hurt-by-bullets type action, along with two extremely brief yet satisfying kick-butt scenes, plus a part where The Rock beats a sand bag with bare fists. I can watch it with my little bros for temporary kicks. I am glad no one spent 19.99 on it, though. I will take it back to the library, and one day, I shall perhaps be invited in by it's classic appeal.<br/><br/>*** out 0f ****** Strikes a deft balance of chase-movie suspense and wisecracking humor, with a few slam-bang action setpieces that would shame the makers of more allegedly grown-up genre fare. Las Vegas cabbie Jack Bruno (<a href="/name/nm0425005/">Dwayne Johnson</a>) finds himself stuck with two teenaged siblings—Sara (<a href="/name/nm1455681/">AnnaSophia Robb</a>) and Seth (<a href="/name/nm1573253/">Alexander Ludwig</a>)—who claim to be aliens running from the "Siphon" (<a href="/name/nm0940430/">Tom Woodruff Jr.</a>), an assassin from outer space sent to kill them. They are also being pursued by Major Henry Burke (<a href="/name/nm0001354/">Ciarán Hinds</a>) of the U.S. Defense Department. The only way Jack can think of aiding the two aliens is to ask for help from Dr Alex Friedman (<a href="/name/nm0001303/">Carla Gugino</a>), a scientist who is presenting a lecture to a UFO Convention at Planet Hollywood. Together, the four of them race to Witch Mountain where their spacecraft is secretly parked. Race to Witch Mountain is being billed as a "modern re-imaging" of <a href="/title/tt0072951/">Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)</a> (1975), which was based on the 1968 novel Escape to Witch Mountain by American science fiction writer Alexander Key. The story was re-adapted for this movie by American screenwriter Mark Bomback. Seth can vary his molecular density allowing him to pass through solid objects. Sara can read minds and move objects by telekinetic force. The original actors who played Tony (<a href="/name/nm0252055/">Ike Eisenmann</a>) and Tia (<a href="/name/nm0001668/">Kim Richards</a>) in Escape to Witch Mountain have cameos. Eisenmann plays a sheriff, and Richards appears as a waitress at Ray's, a roadhouse in Stony Creek.