Yet another remake/reboot of a '70s cult classic, Race to Witch Mountain is a kids' film that wants to sit at the grown-ups' table but can't bring itself to go that extra mile. Ex-con/cabbie Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson) has to escort alien-children Seth (Alexander Ludwig) and Sarah (AnnaSophia Robb) to their spaceship before government agents led by by Ciarán Hinds or some kind of alien assassin catches them. You know the rest--except, perhaps, that a good chunk of the story takes place at a sci-fi convention, where all the weirdos in costume collectively form a belaboured symbol of how fandom and obsession have sapped science fact and fiction of its wonder and curiosity. If you think I might be reading too much into this childish piffle, consider that any film which casts Garry Marshall, of all people, as a weaselly Harlan Ellison (or, more accurately and "subtly," a weaselly science-fiction writer named "Donald Harlan") obviously has something on its mind.

Pretty bold for the remake of a pre-Star Wars piece of sci-fi to lodge its complaints in such a transparently bitter fashion, and I do sympathize to a certain degree--Lord knows my tolerance for references to womp rats and the Kessel Run was long ago exhausted. But in Race to Witch Mountain, it always feels like an excuse for the film's own pathetic sense of wonder. And for something that so readily laments the state of sci-fi today, it sure locks in step with the modern actioner well enough. (Telepathy and telekinesis ain't got nothin' on hyperkinetic editing and slo-mo car crashes, I guess.) By the time rational scientist Alex (Carla Gugino, who apparently didn't get her fill of this shit in Watchmen) joins the ride, you're so desensitized to the thing that its throwaway references to environmental concerns, illegal aliens, and the PATRIOT Act just wash over you--and why shouldn't they? Nothing here has to matter, right? The film certainly makes that loud and clear during the end credits, as Jack and Alex drive off into the sunset in the long-coveted Ford Mustang from Bullitt. Trading one immature attachment for another, Race to Witch Mountain is a kiddie primer for this brave new world of Transformers-style arrested development.-Ian Pugh (excerpted from a longer review found here)

Disney brings the abysmal Race to Witch Mountain to Blu-ray in a state-of-the-art 2.40:1, 1080p presentation. Just glossy enough to placate the big-box crowd and just gritty enough to honour its celluloid (i.e., Super35) origins, it's an impeccable transfer I wouldn't hesitate to call demo-worthy if this weren't, y'know, Race to Witch Mountain. I've read complaints that the image suffers from poor shadow detail due to crushed blacks, but contrast separation looked fine on my monitor. Owing to a mix even blander than Greg Gardiner's cinematography, I can't say I was equally delighted by the accompanying 5.1 DTS-HD track, although I recognize that criticism of the sound design is not the same as criticism of the audio itself. Still, this is definitely one of those times I wish I could take advantage of a disc's D-BOX motion code, for the added flavour.

Not counting the retail and Digital Copy DVDs of the film included in the double-width keepcase ("a $74 value," boasts a sticker on the front cover), the package is rather light on bonus material, hallelujah. Extras begin with a 23-minute batch of "Deleted Scenes" (nine in total) featuring optional video intros from director Andy Fickman. Strangely, for being too funny was the main reason most of these were cut--specifically, for indulging in the kind of fish-out-of-water humour I'd argue is this genre's birthright. I will say that a moment in which Carla Gugino acts, in Fickman's words, like a "Southern belle" in order to fool a park ranger is more painful than all her grotesque vamping in Watchmen. There is, for what it's worth, an alternate ending that inevitably returns the Ciarán Hinds character to the fold, though not as a parking valet as I'd predicted. (Evidently the ol' crowd-pleasing poetic turnabout is currently unfashionable.) These elisions as well as a 4-minute selection of bloopers are 4:3 letterboxed and thus appear windowboxed on 16x9 displays; the only HD supplement is "Which Mountain?" (8 mins.), a featurette wherein Fickman reveals Easter eggs buried in the film that will ostensibly appeal to movie buffs but are more likely to curry favour with his corporate masters, as he points out a seemingly endless barrage of cameos from Disney executives. (Also, it's reaching a little to link Garry Marshall and SF through "Mork & Mindy".) Fickman's a shameless sycophant, which is I guess how he's been able to thrive in Hollywood when he seems more suited to teaching bio or selling insurance. Blu-ray propaganda plus trailers for the BD release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Princess and the Frog, and Hannah Montana: The Movie cue up on startup and join previews for Ponyo, Earth, Up, Santa Buddies, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, and Disney Parks under the "sneak peeks" sub-menu.-Bill Chambers

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