Give Monster Trucks A Chance!

In An Almost Empty Theater

A couple of weekends ago I had the opportunity to spend an entire Saturday with my son and no one else.  The rest of my family was involved in an event that I was not obligated to attend and my son didn’t want to attend, so we had a Father/Son day.  We did the standard family things like eat at a restaurant, have ice cream for dessert, and buy one or two goodies just for ourselves.

We decided to check out a film as well.  The only problem was that there weren’t very many options for us.  Most of the films showing at our local cinema were either rated R or not at all interesting to the both of us. We settled on seeing Monster Trucks.  It was PG, family friendly, had monsters INSIDE of trucks, and looked like it would contain enough action to hold our attention.

In all honesty I wasn’t expecting much from the film (and I don’t believe my son expected much either).  We were just happy to sit together at the movies, share Coke and popcorn, and get away for a little while.  After watching Monster Trucks, though, we left the theater feeling pleasantly surprised.

The film stars Lucas Till (X-Men:  First Class, MacGyver reboot) as Tripp, a young man who doesn’t like his home situation or his mom’s boyfriend (gamely played by Barry Pepper).  He helps out at a local scrapyard/tow truck service run by Mr. Weathers (Danny Glover), who gives Tripp parts from different vehicles to help him complete the construction of his own monster truck from the ground up.

Nearby, a company is drilling for oil when they come upon an underwater lake that appears to have a thriving ecosystem within it.  The company’s owner (Rob Lowe, in a wickedly fun small role) pushes his crew to continue with their drilling work.  This leads to three subterranean creatures escaping through the drill site.  Lowe has his crew capture two of the three creatures, but one of them escapes.  That creature eventually finds its way to Mr. Weathers’ scrapyard and after a humorous encounter, it befriends Tripp.  Tripp gives it the name “Creech” and he and a would-be love interest, Meredith (Jane Levy), team up to rescue the other creatures and return them home.

The duo gets help from Mr. Weathers, Rick (Barry Pepper), one of the scientists (Thomas Lennon) that works for the oil company that captured the creatures, and a few others in order to save Creech and the other creatures.  What follows in a huge chase involving trucks with monsters for motors, a sinister henchman (Holt McCallany), the local sheriff, and lots of special effects.

The film is lighthearted, sometimes silly, but ultimately a very family friendly yarn that will please most children under the age of ten.  I don’t even believe that one strong word is uttered in the film.  There’s a little violence and action, but none of it comes across as too unsettling.

The creatures are funny.  They tugged at the heartstrings of young and old audience members alike.  The special effects are excellent as well.

The cast is extremely solid, especially for a family film.  Lowe, Glover, Whaley, Pepper, and Lennon all deliver solid performances in supporting roles.  Till and Levy have great chemistry on the screen as well.

Ultimately there is nothing overly amazing about this film.  It’s just a simple, funny, family flick.  It’s the perfect distraction for an afternoon with the youngsters.

So, ignore the professional critics and the idiots on Rotten Tomatoes.  This film is worth a watch.

As always, thanks for reading.  I’ll have more movie reviews, Ten Burning Questions, and lots of other stuff.