Review of Monster Trucks (2016) by Christo A — 16 Sep 2017

Cute family flick tries too hard to be an action-adventure. Lucas Till is a very likable actor, but I feel he was far to old (27) to play the role of a high-school student. It would've been more appropriate if his character was more college-aged as his "monster truck imitation" scene felt weird to watch.

Creech is adorable, though I would've loved to see him much earlier in the film. And though many of the chase scenes incorporated some classic stunts from typical Monster Truck Rallies, I would've loved to see more action from the film's namesake sport as well as real-life Monster Trucks instead of just one tiny scene were Tripp was watching a rally on TV.

To piggy back on that last one, I'd also have preferred to see a lot more of the film's versions of Monster Trucks as well. Concept-wise, it falls short due to a lackluster screenplay. A family-oriented comedy that takes inspiration from an arguably very dangerous sport, yet doesn't feature said sport with any real impact on screen.

Herbie: Fully Loaded successfully integrated the NASCAR racing-aspect into a comedy family film, though not as successful as the previous installments, but still memorable. And it even featured a real Monster Truck in the scene where Herbie was sent to a Demolition Derby.

All in all, Monster Trucks is a solid B-Movie that got held back by a lackluster screenplay.