I was really excited about this movie after watching the trailer. Unfortunately, I think the trailer picked up the most stable of the shots.
Although there was a strong resemblance to E.T., and I could relate to The Goonies too a little bit, the movie got off to a good start and it maintained the pace throughout.
Three buddies, Tuck, Alex and Munch are soon to be separated by a construction project causing their families to move. Tuck, an amateur videographer almost always has a camera handy and tapes all moments with his friends. A few days before the move, all their cell phones start behaving weirdly. Alex discovers it's a map and soon their last night together turns into an adventure. Tuck tapes the whole adventure and we see the story from whatever was taped (found footage).
Cons: 1. Shaky cam - I'm usually neutral to shaky cam. I know it's supposed to be amateur footage, but why subject the audience to a dizzying IMAX screen of shaky cam the entire length of the movie? I was fortunately sitting in the back but I felt sorry for the people in the front rows. If you're prone to motion sickness, do not watch this. Even I take better videos than this with my hand-held camera.
2. Screen time of Echo - Given that the movie is about an alien, the screen time of Echo is very less. I would have loved to see more of Echo definitely. The departure of Echo is rather abrupt.
3. Unnecessary character - Emma was definitely a purposefully introduced and totally unnecessary character.
Pros: 1. Good acting - By all the three kids. They did their part well.
2. Good soundtrack - I think the music plays only for a few minutes in the movie but I liked it.
3. Good graphics - The graphics were really nice. Echo and rest of the sequences were well done.
Like another review, I would consider this more of a good rental movie than one that's good to see in the theater.
