Month: July 2014

Earth to Echo – 6.5

When a construction project begins digging in their neighborhood, best friends Tuck, Munch and Alex start to get strange, encoded messages on their cell phones. Convinced something bigger is going on, they tell their parents and the authorities, but no one will take them seriously. The three friends set off to crack the code and follow it to its source. But they soon find themselves in way over their heads when they discover an alien from another world who needs their aid to help him get home.

Yes cellphones are involved and no, no one phones home.

THE GOOD
Comparisons to Steven Spielberg’s E.T. are unavoidable, along with other similar films like The Goonies or more recently, Super 8. However, I don’t think director Dave Green was trying to hide his influences, this is 100% pure Spielbergian coming-of-age sci-fi. The ever present sense of wonder is always felt, with the leads going on an adventure to help a wounded alien and in the process, learning more about themselves and life. The deeper content is balanced pretty well by the family-friendly humor, which is charming in its simplicity, never going for the more vulgar, adult-oriented comedy that so many “kid” films employ these days. Like its influences, Earth to Echo wears its PG rating proudly.

The other strong element in this film is it’s dedication to friendships. I felt refreshed to see a movie strive to display kids connecting with one another. Yes, there are cell phones and the kids all have one, but they don’t spend the entire movie faces down, mashing buttons. Seeing kids really interact with one another reminded me why adventures are so great when you are young. It’s about experiencing things with others and Earth to Echo honestly attempts and scores a win in this department. It also helps a bunch that the child actors are all pretty solid, making sure their characters are never annoying and often believable. They all share a great chemistry, which maintains authentic relationships.

THE BAD
The adult actors are insufferable in this film, tend to just be bystanders and thankfully don’t get a lot of screen time. In particular, the film’s “villain,” a government stooge named Lawrence Madsen, is straight from the pages of a fully undeveloped thought process. He serves no story purpose other then being the antagonist. No backstory, no motives. Nothing. I’m positive the story could have survived fine without him and his cronies. I couldn’t tell from just one viewing if this was a script problem or just an actor thing, nonetheless, every single adult in this film were just useless to the story. They serve no real purpose and ultimately just get in the way.

THE VERDICT
Overall, Earth to Echo was a lot better then I expected it to be. The more cynical viewer will likely just see another sappy coming-of-age story with an alien. However, the solid presentation, decent script, and charismatic actors elevate this above many other such films. In the end though, this is a movie for kids, kids who might not have seen E.T., The Goonies, or The Monster Squad, and if Earth to Echo can inspire in them the same wonder and imagination as those movies did for children of other ages, then I’d call it a success.