Modern ET comes to screens

Review: Earth to Echo

Review: Earth to Echo

Earth to Echo is an adventure film about a group of young outcasts who find an alien who needs help getting back home.

The Campus Activities Board will present the PG-rated movie at Phelps Theater Oct. 16 and 17, and will also provide free drinks and candy.

When the government forces a town to leave their homes for the construction of a new freeway, Tuck decides to film his last days in town with pals Alex and Munch, so they can post their story on YouTube.

After the town experiences issues with cell phones, the boys decide to find out what made the phones stop working. Munch discovers one of the phones has a map burned into the screen.

The boys decide to go on one last adventure their last night in town and follow the map into the desert. There, they discover an alien they name Echo because it imitated beeping noises.

After finding out Echo is not from this planet, the boys decide to help fix his ship to get him back home.

While helping the alien, the boys go through a series of adventures as they run from the government who is looking for Echo and finding pieces of the ship.

The plot of the film appears to tie in elements from classic films like E.T. and The Goonies, yet director Dave Green takes a modern approach by using elements similar to films like Transformers and Cloverfield.

He uses a unique approach, filming most of the movie through Tuck’s camera lens. There are also a few scenes where the action is shown through the eyes of Echo.

Up-and-coming actors Brian Bradley (Tuck), Teo Halm (Alex) and Reese Hartwig (Munch), do a great job of making their characters believable by acting naturally during instances when the camera is focusing on them.

During emotional or intense moments, the audience is able to see the boys’ acting skills.

Although Earth to Echo is a Disney movie, audiences of all ages would still enjoy the film.

It is a great story that ties in some action and suspense but also focuses on the importance of friendship that makes the viewer question how far he or she would go to help a friend.