With the kind of “so stupid it’s almost brilliant” title-to-conceit execution not seen since Snakes On A Plane, the two minutes and 12 seconds of time it’ll take you to watch the trailer for Monster Trucks delivers exactly what the title says it will. Almost jaw-dropping in its lunkheaded literalness, the film looks to do for monsters in trucks what monster trucks have never done for the concept of monsters in trucks. (Unless you count Truckasaurus, which we certainly do.) The kid-friendly tale stars Lucas Till (X-Men: Apocalypse) as Tripp, a small-town dreamer who cobbles together monster trucks from spare parts. However—and this will really shock you—he soon discovers a monster living in his truck. After creatively naming this creature “Creatch,” the two set out to do…something, presumably involving preventing the menacing agents who pop up from getting their hands on Tripp’s new friend.
You have to tip your hat to a film that just commits to this kind of idiocy with such blithe abandon. Jane Levy shows up to ride a horse and generally co-star it up, but the focus is obviously the CGI creation who resembles a cross between an octopus and a cartoon-friendly shark, with Looney Tune-like ability to adjust size and shape as needed. It probably won’t be good, but it certainly isn’t lying to you about its intentions. Monster Trucks will roar into theaters in January 2017.