Today’s quick review: Monster Trucks. Tripp (Lucas Till), a high school student who works at a junkyard, makes an unlikely friend when he meets Creech, a subterranean creature unearthed at an oil drilling site. Hiding Creech in Tripp’s truck, Tripp and his classmate Meredith (Jane Levy) look for a way to return the creature to its home. But first they must outwit Reece Tenneson (Rob Lowe), an oil executive who wants to get rid of Creech entirely.
Monster Trucks is a family sci-fi adventure about a teenager who befriends an intelligent creature with tentacles and a thirst for oil. Monster Trucks’ main appeal comes from its premise. With Creech taking the place of his engine, Tripp pulls off some creative feats with his truck, which he uses to stay one step ahead of Tenneson’s thugs. Apart from this one gimmick, however, the movie is quite shallow, making for a pleasant but insubstantial watch.
Monster Trucks doesn’t have much bite to it, even by the standards of its genre. Tripp makes for a lukewarm protagonist except for the rare occasions where he gets to show off his passion and ingenuity. The story follows the same template as other family adventures, with Tripp and Meredith trying to protect Creech from a sinister cover-up. The movie also has a habit of abandoning its subplots, with a few promising threads that are never finished.
For all of these faults, Monster Trucks never makes any significant missteps. The story is serviceable, the characters are likable enough, and the action, while tame compared to some movies, has some charm to it. Monster Trucks is a fine pick when you’re in the mood for something light, safe, and family-friendly. Anyone looking for hard-hitting action, surprises, or a substantive plot will want to steer clear.
For another sci-fi movie about a teenager who makes friends with a strange creature, try A.X.L., Max Steel, or E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. For a more entertaining sci-fi adventure in the same vein, try Sonic the Hedgehog.
5.6 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for a shallow but pleasant family adventure.