Monster Trucks

Two North Dakota teenagers (Lucas Till, Jane Levy) meet an octopus-like creature from deep under the Earth’s surface; it was ejected from its home by the drilling of a rapacious oil company, and now the company wants to dispose of it before the EPA finds out. This clumsy little E.T. for the NASCAR set has seen its release repeatedly delayed for nearly two years, and it shows tell-tale signs of desperate tinkering. It didn’t help; gaps and holes abound, suggesting scenes that were cut or never filmed—maybe even never written (by Derek Connolly, Matthew Robinson, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, who took the money and ran). There’s a cute monster, even cuter 20-something “high school kids,” and stone-evil petro-villains; maybe that’ll be enough. Chris Wedge’s direction is as sloppy as the script. J.L.