Earth to Echo Movie Review

Last night I took my son and youngest daughter to a prescreening of Earth to Echo.  My son really wanted to see this movie, but my 6 year old daughter was not thrilled with the idea.  She thought it looked scary and was not thrilled to see it.  She is going through a phase of being scared by all sorts of things that aren't really scary.  I thought the movie looked interesting.  The first time I saw a commercial for it I thought of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.  It has been many years since I saw that movie; but the bike riding, backpacks, and hooded sweatshirts ring a bell.

Within the first few minutes of the movie I was thinking about The Goonies, a movie I love and still watch regularly.  The basis for Earth to Echo is that a group of three best friends (Tuck, Alex, and Munch) are going to be separated because there is a freeway being put right through their neighborhood.  Just like The Goonies were going to be moving due to a golf course being built.  And at some point during the movie a girl is added into the mix, just like the two girls show up in The Goonies movie.

The way the movie is done is as if the characters, themselves, are recording the whole thing. So we, the audience, are seeing what the boys are seeing.  It's a pretty cool point of view to have while watching a movie.

Earth to Echo

  

The idea behind the movie.  Several people in the neighborhood begin having problems with their cell phones.  Strange things coming up on the screens etc.  These boys determine the image is a map and decide to go on one last adventure before they all leave forever.  They ride almost 20 miles into the desert (which I find a bit unbelievable) to start their epic adventure.  After they initially find Echo the boys have to follow various maps to help him.  They are confronted with many obstacles, the biggest one being the bad guys that are trying to find Echo.   This is a journey that challenges them and their friendships, but ultimately makes them stronger as people and friends.

My son loved it and wants to see it again, already.  My daughter held onto my arm the whole movie and was a little scared when they first found Echo (whom she says reminds her of a dog) but she sat through the whole movie, which she wouldn't have done if she didn't like it-trust me.

It's a great summer movie for kids.  There is a point that there is texting back and forth between the boys, so for early readers you will have to read the texts for them.  It's rated PG for some action, peril, and mild language.