Earth To Echo Movie Review

By: Lynn Barker

Okay, what if the classic movie E.T. were made today? The kids involved would use modern technology to track the alien, stay in touch with each other and document their experiences on video. Earth to Echo does just that through some very sympathetic young actors you can probably relate to.

The gang communicates with Echo

My Phone Barfed

Buddies Tuck (Brian “Astro” Bradley), Munch (Reese Hartwig) and Alex (Teo Halm) are bummed because they all have to leave their neighborhood due to a new highway development that will level it. Tuck, while crushin’ on hot schoolmate Emma (Ella Whalestedt), loves to make videos and post them on YouTube and freaks when his cellphone “barfs” up all kinds of weird, map-like images.

My phone barfed!

Last Night of Adventure

With the so-called highway construction workers acting weird and the strange phone disturbances, the gang decides to decipher the maps and follow them deep into the Nevada desert miles from home. Road trip… on bikes is in order. The guys all tell each set of parents that they are staying at the other guys’ house for a last night together.

Alex and Munch on the road

New Alien Friend

Out in the desert, the guys discover a weird cylinder and, inside, a cute, injured, mechanical “being” that communicates with beeps and chirps. Finally the boys figure out that he needs to find his ship to go home and there are baddies after him.

Alex searches for parts for Echo

The Quest

The BFFs travel all over town while Echo magnetically attracts the right parts to repair himself and his cylinder and the gang is led to Emma’s house. All the guys are attracted to this smart, pretty girl who sees Echo and wants to join the mission. The friends and Echo are grabbed by the so-called highway workers and are taken to a secret base where, of course these "highway" guys are NOT working on a highway.

Emma, Munch, Alex and Tuck from Echo's POV

In Our Own Backyard

After a lot of struggles, the hero pals are able to help Echo rebuild his ship in a way that is much closer to home than they all thought. Can Echo go home? With Echo added to their BFFs, can their friendships last a lifetime?

Munch (Reese Hartwig) discovers Echo

Wrapping Up

Okay, so this movie is very, very much like the classic E.T. but you can identify with the Earth to Echo teens because they could be you; communicating on phones, posting on YouTube, dealing with crushes, outfoxing parents and longing for a big adventure that will bond them together for a lifetime…. especially when they are about to be separated by many miles.

Searching for clues

Newcomer actors playing these kids are wonderful. You really believe that Munch is bright but worried and fearful, Tuck feels like his family members totally ignore him, Alex, a foster kid, is worried about just being left behind and Emma doesn’t want to be the perfect prom queen princess her folks are grooming her for. The jokes are funny and relatable. Munch posing as his mom on the phone is hilarious. These friends say things that you would.

Trying to communicate

Other than being an updated copy of a classic, one Earth to Echo problem might be that you never really fear that the kids might be in real, life-threatening danger and some of their problems get cleared up a little too easily and without much logic but the movie is short and moves along quickly so you stay involved

It’s a low budget film but little Echo is adorable; kind of like a small, mechanical owl. There were lots of “awwwww’s” in my movie screening when he appeared. The sci-fi effects look real enough as well.

Following the map in the desert

Earth to Echo, minus the new technology, could have been shot in the ‘80’s when The Goonies and Stand By Me flourished. It even borrows from the newer film Super 8 but do you care about the kids and Echo? Sure. Maybe that is what counts for a family-friendly night at the movies so we will go four stars.

Earth to Echo Movie Rating:

Earth To Echo Poster

Earth to Echo is in theaters July 2^nd!