Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Everett Scott, Cheech Marin
Running time: 98 mins
Rating: ★★★

IN 1975, it was Escape To Witch Mountain, then Return From in the sequel three years later.

Now Disney remakes, re-imagines, whatever you want to call it, the story as Race To Witch Mountain.

Watch the trailer for Race To Witch Mountain

The clue is in the title. The race is on. This is a breathless, all-action, not-much sense movie employing the services of Dwayne Johnson, the ex-sportsman formerly known as The Rock in his new-found role as family film star, along with all the special effects tricks in the book.

Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig) are the aliens in human form attempting to save their world and ours into the bargain – but only if they can get back to their crashed spaceship at Witch Mountain.

Johnson, comfortably settled into family entertainer mode, is the indebt Las Vegas cab driver suitably perplexed to pick up a pair of teenage fares with wads of money and supernatural powers (so why you may ask do they need to take a taxi, can’t they simply tellyport themselves to their ship or something?).

Hot on their trail is an alien robot with a penchant for destroying everything in its path and a bunch of government heavies led by UFO investigator Henry Burke (grimfaced Ciaran Hinds). Fresh from Watchman, Carla Gugino is along for the ride as an astrophysist, who is always handy to have around when you’re dealing with aliens.

Car chases, spaceship rides, dopey debt collectors and the end of the world are all part of the scenario that director Andy Fickman – who directed Johnson in another Disney film The Game Plan – keeps zooming along like an outof- control flying saucer.