Sunday, December 7, 2008

Race To Witch Mountain: fun trailer + neat poster = good movie?


Call me crazy, but this Disney family adventure actually looks kinda fun. First of all, Dwayne Johnson is perfect for this kind of thing. He's too good-natured and jolly to be playing R-rated bad-asses, but he does the 'gee-whiz I hope we don't die' shtick better than anyone outside of Brendan Frasier. The man who used to be The Rock has always been a terrifically engaging screen presence (and a terrific interview), but only Peter Berg's The Rundown has really allowed him to really break out (terrific adventure film, by the way... I can't imagine why it never caught on as a DVD cult film).

The poster looks more exciting than any of the last half dozen James Bond posters, and this goofy trailer actually has me hoping its good enough to drag my daughter to on a lazy Sunday afternoon. By the way, the kid stars are Anna Sophia Robb (Violet in the recent Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and happy birthday by the way) and Alexander Ludwig (I'm sure tears-inducing adaptation of The Dark Is Rising wasn't his fault). Point being, the plot looks fun, the production values seem high, and Dwayne Johnson is completely suited to anchoring this Disney fluff with just the right amount of grouchy sentiment. This might be just the perfect double bill for a second viewing of Watchmen (or the perfect guilty pleasure if Watchmen ends up being lousy - ala Blade one week after the heartbreaking collapse of The Avengers in August 1998). Plus, Johnson's last line in the trailer actually made me laugh out loud.

Scott Mendelson

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