'Escape from Planet Earth' is family fun, a B+ film
by Big Family Film Guy
'Escape from Planet Earth' is a fun intergalactic ride with enough gags for kids and jokes that serve as a wink to parents to keep the family entertained for the 89 minute running time.
There are down-sides to bringing five children (11 to 5 years old) to a movie theater on a Saturday afternoon, but for a family movie film critic there is one considerable up-side: I get immediate focus group research data from kids with a wide age and interest span. More on that later.
Summary
'Escape from Planet Earth' stars Brendan Fraser as Scorch, a heroic astronaut on the planet Baab who performs daring rescue missions on planets all over the galaxy with the help of his brother Gary (Rob Corddry, The Daily Show) back at mission control.
Scorch and Gary feud over relatable sibling rivalry issues. Gary's wife and young son are clearly meant to provide kids and moms a character to cheer for--but it mainly works. There's even a fight scene seemingly designed to get stay-at-home moms up and cheering.
The bulk of the movie is spent trying to rescue Scorch from Area 51 after a failed mission on earth. Our family used the ride to the theater as an opportunity to talk about Area 51. This may or may not be a suitable discussion for all ages, but our kids enjoyed it.
The villain in the movie is voiced by William Shatner (General Shanker). An evil military man bent on enslaving aliens for profit. Some of the sly parent jokes to look for: a plot device where the names of famous movie directors are shouted out as first names (in one scene, General Shanker commands two underlings to attack by saying, "James! Cameron! Get the aliens!")
'Escape From Planet Earth' is no 'Toy Story' or 'Lion King'. My guess is that no one will rush out to buy the DVD. But 'Escape' does have a nearly 80% rating from audiences on RottenTomatoes (with a below 30% grade from critics).
What the kids liked
My 5-year-old was delighted by a food fight scene between aliens at an Area 51 cafeteria (sounds funny just typing it).
The 9-year-old's favorite joke was a sight gag involving an inflatable life vest and an oversized space rat creature.
The most interesting take came from the 11-year-old who noticed how 'Escape from Planet Earth' unwittingly tackled the very relevant issue of 'Catfishing' (online hoax romances made famous by the Notre Dame scandal). Suffice to say, the evil General Shanker isn't who he appears to be to an online, interplanetary girlfriend.
Another cosmic coincidence in this movie's favor: It opened on the same weekend that a massive meteorite crashed on Russia and huge asteroid gave planet earth a buzz cut.
Again, 'Escape from Planet Earth' won't make anyone at Pixar nervous (although there is a quick jab at that studio), but it's just right for a family that still believes in a good old-fashioned B(+) movie on a cold February afternoon.
© 2013, KidsOutAndAbout.com
Big Family Film Guy is a reporter and father of five living in St. Louis