'Earth to Echo' is this summer's throwback kid adventure
'Earth to Echo,' which follows a group of children who find an alien, is reminiscent of 'E.T.' and 'The Goonies.' Check out the trailer for 'Earth to Echo,' which is in theaters now.
'Earth to Echo,' which follows a group of children who find an alien, is reminiscent of 'E.T.' and 'The Goonies.' Check out the trailer for 'Earth to Echo,' which is in theaters now.
Sci-fi fans have a full platter of movies on offer this summer that will suit their tastes; from the return of familiar non-human characters in聽Transformers: Age of Extinction,听补苍诲 a vision of a hairier future for Earth in聽Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. On the lower end of the budget scale, however, is newcomer Dave Green鈥檚 found footage alien visitation movie,聽Earth to Echo.
Echo himself (herself?) appears to be a聽tiny robotic alien owl聽with extraordinary powers that unfortunately don鈥檛 include the power to return home. After being assured that human flesh is not on Echo鈥檚 menu of choice, the group of young friends band together to protect Echo from the authorities 鈥� and find a way for the alien to get off Earth and back to its home.
The premise is strongly reminiscent of聽E.T.听补苍诲 other classic adventure movies like聽Explorers听补苍诲The Goonies. In some ways,聽Earth to Echo聽looks like J.J. Abrams鈥� 鈥�80s homage聽Super 8聽-聽only with a cuter alien, a more family-friendly ton, 听补苍诲 not聽quite聽as many lens flares. (Sorry, a lens flare reference is required by law, when discussing Abrams sci-fi.)
The screenplay for聽Earth to Echo聽was penned by another newcomer, Henry Gayden, who told theHuffington Post聽that the biggest inspiration for the movie wasn鈥檛聽E.T.听辞谤听Explorers听产耻迟听Stand By Me: 鈥�We didn鈥檛 want to make a movie that鈥檚 about an alien. We wanted to make a movie that featured an alien, but was about the kids. 鈥� The kids in question are played by a group of four mostly unknown young actors: Teo Halm, Reese Hartwig,聽Ella Wahlestedt and聽The X Factor聽contestant Astro.
Some moviegoers might be getting sick of the found footage format, but for those who can still stomach it,聽Earth to Echo聽looks like聽a fun way to revive some of the classic 鈥�80s sci-fi adventure spirit this summer.
H. Shaw-Williams blogs at Screen Rant.