"Monster Trucks" is one of those movies where you may not start out having much expectation about it but boy it proves you wrong. It's just a good old fashioned super fun action adventure that the entire family can enjoy. The concept may be a bit quirky, I admit, but if the kids laugh and they smile and their parents giggle, I think it's fair to say that "Monster Trucks" does exactly what it's supposed to do.
Directed by the guy who gave us "Ice Age," "Robots," and "Epic," "Monster Trucks" is about a high school senior named Tripp (Lucas Till) who builds his own truck from bits and pieces of scrapped cars. A nearby oil-drilling site's accident causes subterranean creatures to surface, two get caught by the greedy corporation while one escapes to the junkyard where Tripp works. Tripp encounters the new friend, names him Creech and turns out, Creech has the need for speed.
I think "Monster Trucks" is the most exciting and hilarious feel-good family movie since Disney's "Alexander And The Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day," a few years ago. In fact I think those two are quite alike in a lot of ways. Sure "Alexander" didn't have the melding cutting edge VFX and state of the art CGI that "Monster Trucks" has but in terms of the humor and tone, both movies aim to entertain and bring up good topics for the younger viewers.
Granted, it always cracks me up whenever I see people in their late 20s playing high-schoolers, such is the case with Lucas Till and Jane Levy with their respective characters, but that's not anything new in this business, and the actual star here is really the creature Creech who drinks oil and loves to ride fast. The car chases are also surprisingly inventive for a family movie, they're no "French Connection" or "Ronin" obviously but they certainly capitalize on Creech's abilities to make Tripp's truck do the impossible. The movie even frequently plays with heights which gives you that roller coaster thrill. All in all, "Monster Trucks" is an excellent way to start this new year for your family at the movies.
-- Rama's Screen --
