Earth to Echo Review

Earth to Echo

Release Date: 3rd July 2014 - Australia

Production Companies

Walt Disney Pictures (Uncredited)
Relativity Media

Panay Films

Distribution 

Roadshow Distribution

Genre: Sci-Fi/Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 86 minutes

Budget: $13,000,000

Box Office Gross: $45,336,704
(Worldwide)

Plot Summary

After receiving a bizarre 

series of encrypted 

messages, a group of 

kids embark on an 

adventure with an 

alien who needs their 

help.

Cast

Teo Halm - Alex
Brian "Astro" Bradley - Tuck
Reese Hartwig - Munch
Ella Wahlestedt - Emma
Jason Gray-Stanford - Dr.
Lawrence Masden
Algee Smith - Marcus Simms
Cassius Willis - Calvin Simms
Sonya Leslie - Theresa Simms
Kerry O'Malley - Janice Douglas
Virginia Louise Smith - Betty
Barrett
Peter Mackenzie - James Hastings
Valerie Wildman - Christine Hastings
Mary Pat Gleason - Dusty
Myk Watford - Blake Douglas
Isarel Broussard - Cameron

Crew

Director - Dave Green
Story/Screenplay - Henry Gayden
Story/Producer - Andrew Panay
Executive Producers - Jason Beckman, 

Ron Burkle, Jason Colbeck, Jason Colodne,

Mark Benton Johnson, Jack Kavanaugh,

David Miller and Tucker Tooley
Executive Producer/President of Production -
Robbie Brenner
Producer - Ryan Kavanaugh
Co-Producer - Adam Blum
Co-Producer/Executive in Charge of Production -
Ken Halsband

Casting Directors - Randi Heller and 

Tamara-Lee Notcutt
Production Designer - Kasra Farahani
Cinematography - Maxime Alexandre
Costume Designer - Judianna Makovsky
Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator - Scott Rogers
Stunt Coordinators - Keith Campbell,
Ben Hernandez Bray and Chris O'Hara
Special Effects Coordinator - J.D. Schwalm
Special Effects: Echo Designer - Ross Tran
Visual Effects Supervisor - Mitchell S. Drain
Visual Effects Supervisor: Additional Photography -
Stefen Fangmeier
Visual Effects Supervisor: Prime Focus - Josh Saeta
Film Editor - Crispin Struthers
Co-Editor - Carsten Kurpane
Re-Recording Mixer/Sound Designer/Supervising
Sound Editor - Ronald Eng
Dialogue/FX Editor/Re-Recording Mixer/Sound
Designer - Colette D. Dahanne
Sound Designers - Scott Guitteau and
Randy Thom
Music - Joseph Trapanese

Review

I was in shock that the teaser for 'EARTH TO ECHO' was released four years after 'Super 8' and I would hypothesise that these both movies were alike in terms of similar themes and inspirations out of Steven Spielberg's superbly fashioned classics like 'E.T.' and 'The Goonies'. Since J.J. Abrams' hit shook the many sci-fi loving filmgoers and had a lot of maturity and frightening content inside for the teens and young adults, it was without a doubt was similar to 'E.T.' but very low-budgeted. Many of the people who have seen 'Super 8' mentioned a dozen times in their web chatting and reviews that they've considered it to be its knock-off, a sad truth nonetheless that its writers can't seem to think fresh ideas and may have taken some of its elements out of the box and into the ground it goes as they say. This is meant to be aimed at young audiences, I still need to mention the finer details of this film before I get on with the conclusion of this post.

The lead protagonists are shown to be less equal than the ones in 'Super 8' that all each had their different personalities and character developments, especially the girl with the blonde hair who almost bores an uncanny likeness to Elle Fanning's role in the original where she was a far more greater focus to the plot. I love the cute little alien robot design which although helpful to the film, he could have ended up as if he was the main character not that he is able to fall in the category with the more established film bots such as WALL-E and R2D2.

'EARTH TO ECHO' isn't exactly an alternative feature that anyone envisioned it to be, but is a less scarier version of 'Super 8'. It's a forgettable entry and I don't need to watch it a second time since it stands as below average.

Star rating: (4/10) Below Average

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