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Movies / On DVD / Zathura
Zathura

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Zathura (2005)

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Reviews Counted:146

Fresh:111

Rotten:35

Average Rating:6.6/10

Consensus: Dazzling special effects for the kids + well-crafted storytelling for the 'rents = cinematic satisfaction for the whole family.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for fantasy action and peril, and some language.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Childrens

Theatrical Release:Nov 11, 2005 Wide

Box Office: $28,045,540

Synopsis: Actor-turned-director Jon Favreau (SWINGERS, ELF) delivers another work of intelligent, charming family fare with this space adventure, based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg (JUMANJI). Older... Actor-turned-director Jon Favreau (SWINGERS, ELF) delivers another work of intelligent, charming family fare with this space adventure, based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg (JUMANJI). Older brother Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and the younger Danny (Jonah Bobo) are constantly at war with one another, bickering over the mediating voice of their long-suffering father (Tim Robbins). When he has to go to the office to replace some papers the boys destroyed in their crossfire, he leaves them in the dubious care of older sister Lisa (Kristen Stewart), who is sleeping upstairs. When Danny discovers an old board game called Zathura stored in the basement, his excitement is lost on Walter, who has no time for such old, boring toys. Soon, however, the game becomes impossible to ignore, as the boys are transported into space, and one of them must win in order to make it home again. Each turn brings a new, often dangerous, surprise, and the boys are faced with a murderous robot, an explosive meteor shower, and lizard-like aliens, while poor Lisa is cryogenically frozen early in the game. The adventure yields some heartwarming, family-friendly life lessons, and Dax Shepard (IDIOCRACY) is unusually subdued in his role as a stranded astronaut. [More]

Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart

Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim Robbins, Peter Billingsley, Derek Mears

Director: Jon Favreau

Director: Jon Favreau
Producer: Ted Field, Scott Kroopf
Composer: John Debney
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 14, 2006

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Reviews for Zathura

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Well directed, acted, and written, and is bolstered by a light tone which emphasizes wonder and amazement over shock and awe.

Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
11/10/05
Shawn Adler
Shawn Adler
IGN Movies

Clever space adventure with dazzling special effects.

Full Review Source: FilmsInReview.com | comment Comment
10/31/05
Victoria Alexander
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

It's not nearly as good as Jumanji.

Full Review Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel | comment Comment
11/10/05
Tracy Allerton
Tracy Allerton
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Favreau is one of those rare directors who remembers his own childhood and can actually re-create what kids might want to see in a film.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
11/11/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Not without its flaws, but overall surreal fun. Slightly above average. (Might be a bit too scary for little kids.)

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
11/09/05
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

Most of the film's 101 minutes is an onslaught of explosions, attacks, escapes and infighting.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
11/15/05
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

Favreau continues to show a real flair for concocting worlds that persuasively blend the real and the fantastic ...

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
12/06/05
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

Highlights those things that seem to be important to the author: imagination, creativity and family.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
11/10/05
Winda Benedetti
Winda Benedetti
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Zathura is welcome late-year fun for all ages -- a pleasant contrast to the nauseating dreck that normally masquerades as family-friendly science fiction. (Clockstoppers, Thunderbirds… need I go on?).

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
11/10/05
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

After watching the kids play Zathura in Zathura -- a crackling family adventure in which sibling rivalries play out against a backdrop of Robbie-like robot assaults and devouring gila monsters -- all I can say is, let me at it.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
11/11/05
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Director Jon Favreau creates a childlike world for the movie. Mostly everything is shown through the eyes of the boys.

Full Review Source: Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) | comment Comment
11/11/05
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Zathura is a rousing tale with an agreeable balance of fear and teachable moments, the kind of adventure story that seems old-fashioned these days.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
11/11/05
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Tagged as a "new adventure from the world of Jumanji," Zathura certainly keeps to the same venturesome spirit as the original. But the sequel still seems to be a bit of a retread.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
11/11/05
Kit Bowen
Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com

Zathura is a rarity: a stellar fantasy that faces down childhood anxieties with feet-on-the-ground maturity.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
11/09/05
Scott Brown
Scott Brown
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Some pals and I subscribe to the popular theory that any movie is automatically worth watching if it contains (a) jet packs or (b) a giant robot. Zathura has both.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
11/08/05
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

The performances, lavish special effects, the setting and Favreau’s pacing combine in a winning adventure.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
11/11/05
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

'Silly' is this movie's trade and, more often than not, it works.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
11/11/05
Matt Caracappa
Matt Caracappa
Boxoffice Magazine

even with all the peril danger and turmoil the game causes, we secretly with that we could open a box from our basement and enter into an adventure like this... at least I do

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
11/10/05
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

Arguably the best adaptation of a Chris Van Allsburg book to date.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/01/05
Justin Chang
Justin Chang
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

a big concept, but not an original one. It is, in point of fact, pretty much a rehashing of a much better film, JUMANJI, which was also based on a book by Chris Van Allsburg.

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
11/09/05
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews
 
 
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