Earth to Echo

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

MPAA Rating: PG for some action and peril, and mild language.

Appropriate for: Ages 7+

Genre: Sci-Fi Family Adventure

Length: 89 minutes

Year of Release: 2014

(Family discussion questions for this movie can be found at http://christianperspectivereviews.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_7.html)

Tuck (Brian Bradley), Alex (Teo Halm), and Munch (Reese Hartwig) live in an average neighborhood in Nevada. They may be average middle school boys, but their friendship is anything but average. The three of them do everything together, and they’ve always got each other’s backs. When a highway construction project comes to the neighborhood, however, the future of their friendship becomes uncertain. The plans for the new highway have no room for their neighborhood, and the families of the three boys are forced to move away. Their separation seems imminent, and the boys are dreading it.

During their last week together, weird stuff starts happening. To start it all, Alex’s phone goes nuts and starts displaying an image consisting of random blotches. Soon, the other boys’ phones start receiving similar signals. After some digging, they discover that the image is actually a map of an area in the nearby desert. They decide that there’s something big going on, and they determine to solve the mystery. The night before Alex’s moving day, the three boys hop on their bikes and take off into the desert to find out what the map leads to. Their search brings them across a mysterious but friendly creature. Communicating to them through a series of beeping sounds, the cute, metallic alien tells them that he is from outer space. He’s trying to return to his home, but there’s something wrong with him, and they are the only ones who can help him. That’s when the real adventure beings for Tuck, Alex, and Munch—an adventure that will change their lives—and their friendship—forever.

A new and improved version of the classic E.T. and a low-budget, PG version of the 2011 Super 8, Earth to Echo is a fun alien flick for the family. The film has an adventurous, imaginative edge that will attract younger viewers and some clever humor that both parents and children will enjoy. The perspective from which the movie was filmed is also very interesting. The entire thing is shown as if it is all footage that the three friends recorded on their cameras and phones. At times, the camera can get pretty wobbly and cause some dizziness (especially to viewers with a tendency for motion sickness), but it was actually pretty innovative and made the story come alive.

Although—in my opinion—this movie is probably one of the most family-friendly movies of the summer, there are still some things for parents to look out for. There is a small smattering of profanity, including a few exclamations of  “oh my G**,” a declaration that an object is “a piece of c***,” one “what the h***” that was barely audible, and the statement that something was “scary as balls.”

On the boy-girl side of things, one of the boys lies to his friends, telling him that he and a girl kissed. He claims that he has “kissed better,” and he and the girl are later jokingly referred to as “kissing buddies.” Talking about the same girl, one of the other boys calls her the “mannequin girl” and explains that he thinks “mannequins are hot.” At another point in the movie, after two of the friends tell Tuck’s camera that they are sleeping over at their friend’s house to play video games, the third boy jokingly says, “I’m sleeping in your mom’s bed;” he mentions that he’s not going to be playing video games. There is also a scene in which the young characters go into a dimly-lit bar filled with some sketchy people. Later, they search for a character’s brother in a house filled with a bunch of high schoolers who are drinking and partying, and we see a couple making out. These scenes will probably make parents nervous, but it’s all kept PG and will likely not trouble younger viewers.

The violence is nothing to be concerned about and consists mostly of just a few intense moments of objects flying around and breaking things, a brief tussle between two boys, and children being chased by the authorities.

Other objectionable issues mostly involved the relationship between the kids and the parents. As in many other recent films, the parents are depicted as somewhat stupid and careless, and the boys disobey their parents and lie to them without suffering any real consequences. One middle school girl is also shown speaking to her parents in a very disrespectful and sassy manner. Parents should not hesitate to discuss these issues with their children. In Exodus 20:12, God commands his people, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” A relationship defined by disobedience and lies is not what God wants for families.

As a whole, the film is a great family film, appropriate for kids ages seven and up. Parents should certainly discuss the issues they see in this film with their children. At the same time, parents should also point out the merits of this film. It has some very valuable themes, such as the importance of friendship and of loving people who are different. The movie also shows us that true friends are there for each other, even when they are far apart.