Race to Witch Mountain without the fun

"Race to Witch Mountain" (2009) was a fun movie for kids. This has much the same plot, but without the laughs and thrills, has long stretches of "filler" material, is shot in a grimy blue/grey, simply gives up on the "Ranch" half of the plot, and leaves lot of other issues hanging. Having your central character equipped with such extraordinary powers that he can easily hurdle all obstacles removes all the drama, but at least "Race to Witch Mountain" was consistent about it. The present movie takes itself far too seriously, although there are no weighty issues raised.

Waste of three good leading actors, yet does not even feature a compelling villain like Ciarán Hinds in the earlier movie. It is far too long-winded for kids, and not intelligent enough for adults. One problem is that the special effects are far too literal and explicit, like the "laser eyes", the falling satellite, and the "celestial city". Less is more in such movies, as any good horror/mystery/sci-fi director knows.

I give it 3.5 out of 10.