FilmSnobReviews

Title: Monster Trucks
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Chris Wedge
Starring: Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Thomas Lennon
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

What It Is: When an oil company accidently unearths monsters from underneath ground they try to hide the fact so that they may continue to dig in this area. When one of them escapes and find its way in the garage where Tripp (Till) works he isn’t quite sure what to think. When Meredith (Levy) arrives to help Tripp with some homework she’s been trying to get him to do for weeks. When Tripp finds out the monsters eat oil and can help him run like a truck like a combustion engine he uses the monster nicknamed Creech to do just that. This at the behest of the oil company and the geologist that initially found these creatures.

What We Think: So the trailers for this thing had it looking like a completely inept film. It isn’t quite that. This isn’t nearly as terrible as the trailer attempt to make it out. What it is instead is a mediocre family film. Devoid of anything truly cinematically fulfilling and instead chock full of genre cliches and easy decisions. Luckily I really liked Lucas Till and continue to be impressed by Jane Levy. She was great in the Evil Dead and last year’s surprise Don’t Breath she continues to impress even if this wasn’t great.

Our Grade: C-, So it isn’t a failure by any means and it is a better film than the marketing would have you believe. That said I recommend this for families looking for harmless fun for everyone. For the general audience maybe a skip is in order. Check out Till in the new X-Men Series whether it’s First Class, Days of Future Past or Apocalypse he’s better there. Or maybe Levy in I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore. All of which are better movies than this.