Disney / Buena Vista | 2009 | 98 mins | Rated PG
Given Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s popularity as a wrestler and his subsequent success in action films like The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King, it would have made sense if he wanted to build a career as an action star; instead, by 2007, begun appearing in a series of more family friendly fair, such as The Game Plan, which grossed nearly $145 million worldwide. Shortly thereafter, Johnson dropped “The Rock” moniker from his stage name and seemed to embark on a quest to capture the Disney demographic. He made guest appearances on Cory in the House, Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place as himself and hosted the 2009 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
Earlier this year, Johnson starred in Race to Witch Mountain, a reworking of the 1975 film Escape to Witch Mountain. Based as much on the 1968 Alexander Key, the movie finds Johnson playing Jack Bruno, a Las Vegas cab driver. He’s a former driver for a Las Vegas mob boss who goes straight after he gets out of prison. While driving one day, Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) appear in his backseat; explain that they’re aliens, they ask him to drive them to a remote desert location for a lot of money. As it turns out, the youngsters/aliens are also on the run from a group of determined government agents and a genetically engineered assassin (Tom Woodruff). Jack quickly finds himself in a very unenviable position.
Jack asks for the help of a previous fare, Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Guigino), in town to address a convention of fanboys and girls at a combination UFO convention and costume party. Leading the federal agent’s pursuit of Sara and Seth is a tough looking guy named Burke (Ciaran Hinds) in a pack of three black SUV’s with tinted windows. The chase leads them deep into Witch Mountain. Along the way, Jack, the kids and Dr. Friedman are forced to face several dozen heavily armed SWAT members, whom Burke seems to be able to materialize at will.
Younger audiences will undoubtedly enjoy the bloodless action Race to Witch Mountain provides. This is strictly by the numbers stuff that allows Dwayne Jonson to play the lovable hero. He maneuvers through car chases, fights and explosions with an ease and humor that makes him seem like everyone’s favorite uncle. That being said, anyone over the age of twelve might find Race to Witch Mountain less than thrilling. To more mature audience members, the film seems like a half-baked effort on the part of director Andy Fickman and screenwriters Mark Bomback and Matt Lopez. Part science fiction, part action, Race never really decides what genre it wants to belong to and with all sorts of alien mumbo jumbo and out of place one liners, it’s a stretch to say the script is top notch stuff.
For adults who remember the original, the highlight of Race to Witch Mountain is the appearance of original stars Kim Richards (as a sympathetic waitress) and Ike Eisenmann (as a no nonsense sheriff), in extended cameos. Fickman does deserve some credit though; he manages to make Dwayne Johnson likeable and larger than life, even in the confines of a taxi. If you’re a fan of The Rock or have an 8 to 12-year-old in your household, Race to Witch Mountain is worth a look.
Race to Witch Mountain has a so-so 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. The palette lacks much color and skin tones are rather muddy. Delineation isn’t great, as things look rather black at times. However, contrast is rather stable throughout. Even though the film’s most ruthless shadows flatten the image on occasion, depth and overall dimensionality is strong (particularly during daylight exterior shots and scenes involving alien encounters). Fine detail is quite good, boasting enough well-defined edges and revealing textures to elevate the picture above its mediocre visuals. The transfer doesn’t suffer from any significant artifacting, banding, or source noise. Edge enhancement and crush pop up occasionally but rarely become major distractions. While this is clearly not one of Disney’s best Blu-ray efforts, it shouldn’t be passed over by fans of the format.
The film features a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that captures the intensity of the film’s numerous chase scenes. Dialogue is crisp and clear. LFE output is commendable (albeit a tad overdone on occasion), infusing crashes and explosions with legitimate presence and impact. Rear speaker aggression is impressive as well, injecting plenty of convincing ambient effects and realistic acoustic properties into the track’s immersive soundfield. Kids will still be suitably blown away by the sonic immediacy of it all. Race to Witch Mountain provides a solid soundtrack for the material.
Race to Witch Mountain offers some underwhelming special features:
• Deleted Scenes with Director’s Introductions (SD, 23 minutes) All of these were rightly deleted.
• Bloopers (SD, 4 minutes) Some of these are actually pretty funny.
• Exclusive Backstage Disney Short (HD, 8 minutes) The director discusses references to the original Escape to Witch Mountain and Return to Witch Mountain.
• Standard DVD copy of the film.
• Digital Copy of the film.
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