Monster Trucks

Nothing wrong with a fun cute family movie-- haters gonna hate but I loved it. It was good. What is not to like-- creatures, monster trucks, action, adventure, family love. Home Phillip Phillips Hold on, to me as we go As we roll down this unfamiliar road And although this wave is stringing us along Just know you're not alone 'Cause I'm going to make this place your home Settle down, it'll all be clear Don't pay no mind to the demons They fill you with fear The trouble it might drag you down If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you're not alone 'Cause I'm going to make this place your home

I want to commend the filmmakers on this film. There was a lot of bad press about it even coming from the studio as writing it off as a loss before it was even released.

My kids (11 and 8) have been wanting to see it since we saw a trailer ages ago. I thought the concept was a bit crazy, but it did seem like fun.

After reading that Paramount was already writing it down as a loss, pretty much told me the movie must not be that good. I didn't want to not take my kids just because of that.

Cut to today. We saw the fist showing this morning. I have to say the movie was a lot of fun. It called back to films from the 80's when I was a little film-goer. Director Chris Wedge really made a fun film that has monsters and trucks, it truly lived up to it's title. I feel like he (the director) was really pulling from films like the Explorers, Flight of the Navigator, and a bit of Gremlins. Funny, action packed and not long for the sake of being long like so many movies today. It told a cute story and let us on our way.

About halfway through the movie, I realized why I was enjoying it. It was not something from another property, no comic book characters, it wasn't a sequel. It was something to get wrapped up in and enjoy.

I just wanted to say that we really enjoyed it and I hope more people give it a chance. It's not going to solve the world's problems, but it's certainly going to entertain you. First thing my 11- year-old said after it was over was, "Can we see this again tomorrow?" Not sure if there is a better admission of how fun it was.

Very fun!

Starts off by giving little information about some of the core characters. Slowly building up to the first meeting with "creech".

My Kids absolutely loved it, they don't care about CGI, does it look like another, or how hammy some of the acting may be. They wanted to see an fun, entertaining film, and they certainly got that!

In some ways the creature reminded me of "Toothless" from How to Train a Dragon, but that would be down to it being a child.

Overall, the plot was great for a family movie, few minor plot holes, but the kids didn't notice that (nor should they tbh)

Overall, I took the kids knowing what the film was about and what to expect, and it was delivered.

'MONSTER TRUCKS': Four Stars (Out of Five)

The new live-action/computer-animated action comedy, directed by Chris Wedge; who's also directed (or co-directed) such hit computer- animated kids movies as 'ICE AGE', 'ROBOTS' and 'EPIC'. The film is about a high school senior, who befriends an unknown subterranean creature; and then uses it to power his monster truck (which he built himself, from old cars). The two also team up, to save the creature (and others like it), from ruthless businessmen. It was written by Derek Connolly, Mathew Robinson, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. The movie stars ​Lucas Till (of 'X-MEN' fame), Jane Levy (of 'DON'T BREATHE' and 'EVIL DEAD' fame), Thomas Lennon, Barry Pepper, Rob Lowe, Holt McCallany, Amy Ryan, Frank Whaley and Danny Glover. It was made on a budget of $125 million, and it's only expected to make a fraction of that back (in theaters). It's also gotten mostly negative reviews from critics, but I really enjoyed it!

Tripp Coley (Till) lives in a small North Dakota town, which is ran by big business (a ruthless oil company). He hates his mom's boyfriend, who's also the town's sheriff (Pepper), and he really wants to leave town. Tripp is also fascinated by automobiles, and he builds himself a monster truck (out of old scrapped car parts) to leave town in. The truck still needs an engine though. One night, while he's working on his truck, Tripp finds an undiscovered subterranean creature resting nearby. He then befriends it, and names it Creech. He also learns that the creature loves speed, and it can power his truck just like an engine could. Tripp also later learns that the ruthless oil businessmen want to catch Creech, and kill him, as well as other subterranean critters like it (which the oil company accidentally let loose). Tripp teams up with Creech, and a friendly girl from school (Levy), to save this new species.

The movie is a lot of fun; the visuals are great, the critters are cool, and the action scenes are entertaining. It's also kind of an animal rights movie, so I love it automatically for that, but it's also reminiscent of other classic 'boy befriends alien' (or animal) kids movies. It's definitely the type of film I would have loved as a kid, and the cast is all great in it. I also think Wedge is a pretty talented director, at making awesome animated (or partially animated) kids movies. I really don't understand the negative reviews!

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A young loner discovers a monster in a junkyard and finds he can use it to power his car. Soon he befriends the monster and sets out to help it find it's way home.

Great special effects and some good performances from some likable lead actors makes this an enjoyable movie to watch. Don't expect the plot to hold up to well under strict scrutiny but it is a kids film after all. There are some good positive messages about family and friends with a little bit of a green message too but nothing heavy handed.

The monster is very likable and the film has some funny moments too. Definitely recommended. I know I would have loved this as a kid and would have certainly enjoyed the action scenes in the second half of the movie. I can imagine younger kids of today having fond memories of this movie in the future. I just hope people give the movie a chance.