Monster Trucks

Name: Monster Trucks
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comedy
Released: January 13, 2017
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 41
Cast: Amy Ryan, Barry Pepper, Danny Glover, Frank Whaley, Holt McCallany

2017

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Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critics

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Mixed or average reviews based on 57 Ratings

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5.5	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 57 Ratings

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Monster Trucks

Movie Details & Credits

Paramount Pictures | Release Date: January 13, 2017

Starring: Amy Ryan, Barry Pepper, Danny Glover, Frank Whaley, Holt McCallany, Jane Levy, Lucas Till, Rob Lowe, Thomas Lennon

Summary: Looking for any way to get away from the life and town he was born into, Tripp (Lucas Till), a high school senior, builds a Monster Truck from bits and pieces of scrapped cars. After an accident at a nearby oil-drilling site displaces a strange and subterranean creature with a taste and a talent for speed, Tripp may have just found the keyLooking for any way to get away from the life and town he was born into, Tripp (Lucas Till), a high school senior, builds a Monster Truck from bits and pieces of scrapped cars. After an accident at a nearby oil-drilling site displaces a strange and subterranean creature with a taste and a talent for speed, Tripp may have just found the key to getting out of town and a most unlikely friend. [Paramount Pictures]… Expand

Director: Chris Wedge

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Comedy, Animation, Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 105 min

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Awards & Rankings

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Critic Reviews

The New York Times - Andy Webster

Jan 12, 2017

It’s an eco-fable devoid of didactic overkill, delivered with energy, winking mischief, unobtrusive effects and a skilled cast. Read full review

TheWrap - Sam Fragoso

Jan 15, 2017

Levy and Till prove to have chemistry together despite their predictable romantic arc. Wedge (whose other previous credits include “Robots” and “Epic”) knows how to keep the proceedings generally casual and breezy. The action sequences unfold with an air of lightness and youthful irresponsibility. Read full review

Washington Post - Alan Zilberman

Jan 12, 2017

The idea is unabashedly silly, yet Monster Trucks is more involving than it sounds. Characters and conflicts are sharply defined, and director Chris Wedge handles the action with clarity. Read full review

Empire - Helen O'Hara

Dec 26, 2016

Objectively ridiculous but mostly fun, this is better than you could have predicted given the title but squarely aimed at a young and undiscerning audience. Read full review

The Guardian - Mike McCahill

Dec 27, 2016

It has tentacles and hot wheels, yes, but not the legs or bright ideas to sustain itself. Read full review

The Telegraph - Tim Robey

Dec 27, 2016

As much as you may find yourself rooting for the film, it’s too blandly directed by Chris Wedge (Ice Age) to repay the favour with anything out of the ordinary. Read full review

Slant Magazine - Ed Gonzalez

Jan 12, 2017

The film cartoonishly admonishing Big Oil while hypocritically fetishizing the gas-guzzling appetite of a cute and cuddly machine-creature hybrid. Read full review

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User Reviews

dm_punks

Apr 5, 2017

This is a surprisingly entertaining movie about monsters, trucks, and respect. Most of the action involved the "Monster Truck" Creech in vehicle chases with other trucks, pickups, and even a huge super dumptruck. Recommended for family viewing, this is a kid-friendly and feel-good movie thatThis is a surprisingly entertaining movie about monsters, trucks, and respect. Most of the action involved the "Monster Truck" Creech in vehicle chases with other trucks, pickups, and even a huge super dumptruck. Recommended for family viewing, this is a kid-friendly and feel-good movie that teaches good values.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Tintenseher

Jan 17, 2017

Monster Trucks has a beautiful, elegant simplicity to it. It is a beacon of brilliance in film, and all artists and storytellers should look to it for guidance. No, I'm not kidding.
Maybe it's just because a lot of dull and poorly-made movies have come out lately, but Monster Trucks blew meMonster Trucks has a beautiful, elegant simplicity to it. It is a beacon of brilliance in film, and all artists and storytellers should look to it for guidance. No, I'm not kidding.
Maybe it's just because a lot of dull and poorly-made movies have come out lately, but Monster Trucks blew me away by being so much better than I thought it would be. It has a sensible plot, likable and believable characters, arcs with payoff, foreshadowing, a fantastic cast, and so much more.
It's convinced me that it must be harder to make a bad movie than a good one. It begins with a simple premise: what if monster trucks were actually trucks with monsters in them? Then, everything in the movie builds off of or supports that premise. It was carefully thought-out, and it has heart, and it has some seriously awesome action sequences. Everything was meticulously planned, from the tiny brick jokes to the actually important plot stuff.
It sounds like sarcasm, but I would easily put Monster Trucks in my top 10 movies of all time if I knew what the other movies on that list were. For me, it beats out any of the big movies recently, like Rogue One or Passengers, and even movies I really liked, like La La Land or Hidden Figures.
It's not getting the attention it deserves. Seriously, people, it has monsters, trucks, monsters in trucks, monster trucks, and monsters in monster trucks. And best of all, it makes all of that MAKE SENSE! And be funny! And even maybe make you cry a little bit at the end! What more could you possibly want?!… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

nicholi0901

Mar 8, 2018

why is everyone given it bad reviews i think it's awesome alot of action but I would like it more if it had some comedy but for me a pass make a sequel

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ThisIsSparta666

Jan 14, 2017

The idea is unabashedly silly, yet Monster Trucks is more involving than it sounds. Characters and conflicts are sharply defined, and director Chris Wedge handles the action with clarity.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

LeZee

Apr 26, 2017

Very intentional film, but could not deliver!

There are lots of similarities with other films, maybe not directly. In todays world, it became practice to give kids (and sometimes for women) their own version of what meant for only grownups. So there's no use whining about that. BecauseVery intentional film, but could not deliver!

There are lots of similarities with other films, maybe not directly. In todays world, it became practice to give kids (and sometimes for women) their own version of what meant for only grownups. So there's no use whining about that. Because those who does might not be the target audience. This is I think purely for kids, otherwise it would have not got bold PG, but like usual for any film, I gave it a try. Even though it's not original, somewhat I enjoyed watching it.

The story was in usual pattern that opened with an intro, then moving to unleash the long trapped ancient creatures into the human society. One becomes friend with it and a few starting to hunt it with the rest are as the neutral or unaware of it. There's nothing unpredictable in it. And so the tale comes to halt with a finale where maximum push was given, but overall it fails to impress on the average expectation.

Good title, good idea, even the graphics were not bad, but not good enough stunts with okay performances. I feel it could have become a good television series than the film. So they should scrap the idea if they have one for a sequel and instead make a shift to television. Other than what I thought, this is a good entertainer for little kids. So it should be watched by them more than their counterparts.

5½/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Muskrat147

Jan 22, 2017

Though it has moments of swirling ambition and stylized CGI, Monster Trucks proves that a simple children's story doesn't quite work for the general audience anymore.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

2pacman

Jan 15, 2017

Watched it opening day. The only reason I heard about this movie was because of the Pizza Party Podcast with Pan-Pizza because Jim Gisriel tried to over hype this movie because it would be funny if a January movie after Star Wars+Oscar Season was hyped up and rallied for even though it wasWatched it opening day. The only reason I heard about this movie was because of the Pizza Party Podcast with Pan-Pizza because Jim Gisriel tried to over hype this movie because it would be funny if a January movie after Star Wars+Oscar Season was hyped up and rallied for even though it was destined to fail. Ever since last summer when I first heard f this movie I thought it was gonna fail financially and critically, which it did. But I also expected more from this movie, with a 200 Million dollar budget (After Marketing) I was expecting huge set pieces and Monster Truck Competitions that could rival Michael Bay's Transformers. Instead I got an awkward and disturbing morphed version of E.T. Having the alien creature your supposed to connect with be treated like nothing more than a car engine, a car lovers toy is just disrespectful and just flat out disturbing compared to a good movie like E.T. The acting was somehow worse than a Tommy Wiseau or Neil Breen Production which is very difficult to top, you have to go out of your way to find actors that bad. My number 1 problem with this film is the lack of set pieces and changing scenery, in other words, THIS MOVIE WAS FILMED INSIDE A 1 MILE RADIUS OVER THE COURSE OF AN AFTERNOON ITS SO CHEAP. WHERE DID THE 100 MILLION GO NICKELODEON?!?!? I THOUGHT YOU WERE BETTER KNOW THAT YOU MADE THE LOUD HOUSE BUT WHAT IS THIS?!?!? DID YOU EVEN TRY?!?!? THIS MOVIE LOOKS LIKE YOU JUST RENTED 3 BIG TRUCKS AND TOOK THEM OUT FOR A DRIVE IN A GREEN FIELD AND THEN MADE A MOVIE AROUND THAT IN POST PRODUCTION!!!!!! THIS MOVIE IS SO EMPTY THE ONLY ENJOYMENT I GOT OUT OF IT WAS LAUGHING AT HOW BAD IT WAS WITH MY FRIENDS AND MAKING JOKES OUT LOUD BECAUSE THE THEATER WAS EMPTY. THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD OF REDEEMED THIS MOVIE IS IF YOU RELEASE JIM GISRIELS ENDING HE MADE UP ON THE PODCAST WHERE BERNIE SANDERS DRIVES CREECH IN A MONSTER TRUCK INTO THE TRUMP INAUGURATION. I watched this on opening day at the AMC Theaters Glendora CA with my best friends and we enjoyed this terrible $h%t movie because we were laughing really hard at how bad it was. What I'm trying to say is DON"T WATCH THIS MOVIE. Also I'm keeping the free handout stickers and selling them on Ebay in ten years and hopefully it will make me more money than this movie made Paramount.… Expand

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

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