Three inseparable friends go on one last adventure before moving away from each other due to a strange freeway construction project forcing their entire neighborhood to vacate their homes. Two days before their scheduled move their adventure begins when their cell phones start to receive mysterious signals. Buoyed by a reckless abandon, the boys lie to their parents and go on an all-nighter into the Nevada desert to discover the source of the signals and the ultimate cause of the "construction" project.
The storyline may be, to put it nicely, a little light on logic. Thirteen year-olds can now learn to drive without incident in just under 5 minutes. They can bike out into the middle of a desert, have a 2-hour conversation, and still accomplish various tasks for Echo, all before the sun comes up "“ it's like they can freeze time or something. The characters are at least amusing. Tuck is a tough-acting kid who might be a little too gung-ho at times, but his charm helps keep the group together. Alex is a foster kid who also acts tough but is quiet in comparison and a bit more sentimental. Munch (or Reginald) is the quirky one who inadvertently provides a great deal of humor to the film. The trio work well together, but the story just doesn't cut it.
The film starts off well enough "“ the boys are helping the alien rebuild enough to find his spaceship and return home. But then a mysterious doctor-like character appears, and the waters get a little too muddy too fast. By the end of the movie, when Alex is having his big scene with Echo, what should feel like an emotional moment is instead more of a dim reflection of what Spielberg was able to create in E.T. Earth to Echo begins at a good pace, but by the middle, too many new things are being introduced and rushed through so there's not adequate time to spend on a good backstory to allow Echo to become memorable.
Earth to Echo is a decent homage to the films that I grew up watching. While it certainly has its issues, it is lighthearted enough fare for the entire family. The littler kids in the theater weren't scared of anything happening on the screen. Unlike Transformers, this alien movie accomplishes a decent story in half the time; though I'm not sure that is saying much.
