Race to Witch Mountain (Single-Disc Edition)
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, Ted HartleyDirector: Andy Fickman
Studio: Walt Disney Video
MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Running Time: 99 minutes
DVD Release: August 4th 2009
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DVD Review
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 08/04/2009 Run time: 98 minutes Rating: Pg
User Reviews
The Magic just keeps leaving this series... - Rating: 3/5
Just as Return From Witch Mountain lost a little of the magic that made the original Escape to Witch Mountain so special, the series continues to atrophy with the third entry in the conceptual story with Race to Witch Mountain. Escape to Witch Mountain shrouded its story in mystery by keeping the children's history concealed from both the antagonists, the audience and the children themselves. The film as a whole was a testament to discovering identity, a feat which Return From Witch Mountain couldn't quite replicate as it became nothing but a film to demonstrate how good Disney had become at its cable-based stunt work. So what benchmark does that leave for Disney to score with Race to Witch Mountain?
Whatever it is, Disney definitely doesn't quite achieve it.
Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson) drives a taxi cab in Las Vegas and, in doing so, meets a lot of interesting people. Jack's life only gets more interesting with the UFO convention in town drawing geeks in Stormtrooper costumes and UFO experts like Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino) to the neon strip - and a pair of peculiar children: Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig). With a wad of cash they commission Jack to drive them into the desert to an old shanty long deserted by humanity - or so they thought. While snooping about the house they encounter a Power Ranger look-alike assassin whose only goal seems to be the execution of the duo. Also hot on their heels are government agents Henry Burke (Ciaran Hinds), Matheson (Tom Everett Scott) and rookie Pope (Chris Marquette). We learn that the twins' trip to Earth was an effort to spare Earth's inhabitants by retrieving an ozone saving technology that would allow their species to repair the damage to their planet after years of ecological neglect (realllly subtle message Disney). But wait, if these aliens have the technology to build interstellar spacecraft and intergalactic transponders, why are they coming to us for a study on patching up an ozone layer? Whatever.
The three parties race across the Nevada landscape with each trying to outsmart the next. Along the way, because apparently it's cuter, Jack and company pick up a stray dog whose mind the children can read. This ability is just one of the many plot-convenient things they can do; but to be fair, the original Witch Mountain twins could do similar things, so for the sake of continuity we won't hold it against them.
Dwayne Johnson always amuses me, no matter what his role. He's got an uncanny sense of comedic timing for a guy whom, if Hollywood were to cast him by appearances alone, would play nothing by strongmen and goons. Luckily, he's been allowed to prove his comedic mettle, and it shines on in Race to Witch Mountain. At the opposite end of the spectrum we have AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig whom do little in the way of acting at any point in the movie and really just keep a sedated look plastered across their faces at all times. Carla Gugino comes into the game early on, but isn't really brought into the story until the final 35 minutes - and by that point it's more running about than it is storytelling. Ciaran Hinds may be good at playing the menacing opposition, but he needs to start branching out - this is getting tired. Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards, the original Witch Mountain kids, make cameos as a helpful sheriff and a waitress, respectively.
What may be most disconcerting for the Witch Mountain fans is the shifting of Witch Mountain from a place of ultimate refuge to one of antagonism. In the original two films salvation was found at Witch Mountain in the first and then was sent from Witch Mountain in the second. So the titular locations transition to a fortified enemy base comes as an odd wrinkle in proceedings: the Mecca of the Witch Mountain universe became the Hades from which they had to pull their incarcerated ship.
Blu-ray Extra Features:
Prepare to be underwhelmed, folks. There's but one extra feature besides the DVD and digital copy of the film included with the Blu-ray purchase, and it involves director Andy Fickman going through the movie and pointing out all of the small little references made to the past two Witch Mountain movies (as well as a few lesser known Disney flicks). It's actually pretty interesting if you've ever seen the other two as it's very obvious the movie was a love letter to the original films, flaws and all.
Ugghh!!! - Rating: 1/5
First of all:
1) What in the world is Cheech Marin doing in this movie? Absolutely no purpose, not even comedic, for his being in this movie.
2) The alien kids powers seem to grow and detract depending on the scene.
3) How can a secret government agency track two unknown children in a population of millions by simply reviewing random cameras?
4) Bruno and the doctor seem to have no problem navigating throw a secret government facility. They magically end up in the very room where the two alien kids are about to be experminated on.
5) Absolute zero chemistry between Bruno and the doctor. Apparently Bruno made such an impression the first time the good doctor's memory had to be prodded vigoursly.
not much of interest for the adult viewer - Rating: 2/5
**1/2
The young `uns might get a kick out of "Race to Witch Mountain," but the rest of us should probably just take a pass on this noisy, dull and uninspired "re-imagining" of "Escape to Witch Mountain" from 1975.
Dwayne Johnson plays an ex-con taxi driver in Las Vegas who experiences the ride of his life when two teenagers from outer space (isn't that a redundancy?), whose spaceship has crash landed in the desert, jump into the backseat of his cab to escape the nefarious government authorities and the evil aliens out to get them (the explanation as to why they've undertaken this dangerous trip to earth will probably be too esoteric and complicated for much of the intended audience to even understand).
Johnson is likable as always, but the kids, with their formalized, take-us-to-your-leader diction, begin to wear on the nerves after awhile. The movie is also top heavy with special effects, car crashes and explosions, and light on originality, characterization and humor.
Okay for kids, stultifying for adults.
Race to Witch Mountain - Blu-ray Info - Rating: 2/5
Version: U.S.A / BVHE / Region A, C
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
MPEG-4 AVC / BD-50 / AACS
Running time: 1:38:17
Movie size: 27,729,967,104 bytes
Disc size: 36,453,440,969 bytes
Total bit rate: 37.61 Mbps
Average video bit rate: 28.05 Mbps
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3903 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3903 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Thai 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Chinese (Traditional & Simplified), Korean, Malay, Indonesian, Bahasa, Portuguese, Thai
Number of chapters: 12
Which Mountain (HD - 8m:20s)
Deleted Scenes (SD - 23m:21s)
#Bloopers - (3m:37s)
#Digital Copy (Disc-2)
#DVD (Disc-3)
Only the names have been preserved, if that, in this action-packed chase movie. - Rating: 5/5
Well it's Disney and its Blu-Ray and you spend 10 minutes before the movie letting Disney tell you this is Disney and its Blu-Ray. I was getting ready for one of those namby-pamby cleanup the planet or some other politically correct movies where the politically correct overtakes the enjoyment of the movie. However I was pleasantly surprised to find out that even though it was an anti-war or anti- take-over your world movie they did not let the premise get in the way of the action packed and the one liners that make movies.
Our world is being invaded. The interlopers in which we all know are strange looking beings that do not have Earth's best interest in mind, take on the outward appearance of two siblings Sara and Seth (AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig). Could it be that they are just a couple of kids? Here's where the Disney premise takes over kids can be things that parents can't kids have insight that adults don't. Over looking this annoying premise the aliens recruit a local cab driver (Dwayne Johnson) with a colorful background to help them accomplish their mission. The cab driver errors a local UFOlogist, Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino) to help him accomplish his mission. And what is of good chase movie if you don't have bad guys like misinforms CIA and evil alien military. Once again we have the Disney you can't trust authorities to make decisions syndrome. Yet with plenty of action we can overlook these little faux pas.
So get out your popcorn, let your imagination go wild look at the wonderful colors and laugh with us as the aliens teach the cab driver lessons in life.
The One (Superbit Collection)
