Remember the BMX chase scene from 'E.T. – the Extra-Terrestrial'? Of course you do. Imagine that bicycle chase scene being stretched out to a full-length movie — but without the bicycles, the kids or the scrawny, wrinkly cute alien. Now you have an idea of what 'Race to Witch Mountain', the latest live-action movie from Walt Disney, is like...

The movie stars Dwayne Johnson (the WWE wrestler formerly known as The Rock). He plays a kind-hearted Las Vegas taxi driver who helps out two teens — a brother and his sister — who happen to be aliens (from Outer Space and not the sort sneaking over the Mexican border) from being captured by ominous U.S. authorities. To complicate matters a Predator-like alien assassin has also been sent to kill the siblings. Carla Gugino, whom sharp-eyed cinemagoers will recognise as the Silk Spectre's senior citizen mom in 'Watchmen', plays an astrophysicist who helps them out.

The plot involves the teens having to return to their home planet in time to prevent an alien invasion of the Earth — but all that doesn't really matter. The movie is one long chase scene. It is action from the word go and 'Race to Witch Mountain' doesn't bother spending much time on fluff such as characterisation and motivation. There are good guys and there are bad guys, and that is all you need to know as the movie rushes from one exciting action sequence to the next, never pausing to catch its breath.

Simply it's an action movie aimed at the 8- to 13-year-old crowd (smaller kids may find some stuff a bit scary to be honest). Anyone falling in that demographic, especially boys, will have a blast. Parents who take their kids to see the movie probably won't mind all the breathless derring-do either. After all, there are worse movies to take your kids to this school holiday, and if those parents are lucky they'll wind up in a theatre where the sound volumes aren't cranked to 11. Make no mistake: 'Race to Witch Mountain' is loud, fast and superficial — perfect for kids who are a product of our modern Attention Deficit Disorder culture.

(Incidentally, anyone who hates 4x4's would also love the movie as there is enough wanton destruction of SUVs to keep any self-respecting Save the Planet type happy.)

» James O’Ehley is a freelance journalist and content editor of The Sci-Fi Movie Page, an international entertainment web site.