When Robbins exits the movie for a business meeting, we kind of wish he'd take us with him.
Zathura (2005)
Tomatometer
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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
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Reviews for Zathura
This is the flick you always hoped to bump into on Saturday afternoon, and never did.
Zips along with speed and confidence, and though I'd never have guessed it, goofy Jon Favreau can direct a pretty exciting action scene.
Here’s a film that is stuffed with cleverness and imagination – one that taps into some of the most primal childhood fantasies of adventure.
Most of the film's 101 minutes is an onslaught of explosions, attacks, escapes and infighting.
If you or your kids haven't seen Jumanji, this is definitely worth a trip to the theater.
A smart and funny kids' movie that will also keep parents entertained.
Go with kids to Zathura, because it will look so much better through their eyes.
Zathura could have used that Tim Burton touch, but it's still an imaginative way for kids to kill an afternoon.
An uneven mixed bag, Zathura is more likely to appeal to screaming kids and the parents who love them, than it will to the average moviegoer.
Smart and engaging, Zathura is one big "Check Mate" to Jumanji, a movie it trumps in every way.
... a Jumanji-inspired lesson in family values (that) makes for a fun family adventure that doesn’t talk down to its target audience...
Zathura ultimately comes across as little more than the template for an eventual kiddie-friendly theme park attraction.
Zathura, Jon Favreau's adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's kid-lit adventure of the same name, more than fills the bill -- though it's unlikely to draw anyone over the age of 11 (not counting baby-sitters).
Zathura salutes the low-tech magic that lurks inside a board game -- that hidden ability to bring people together.
The film's Buck Rogers-style graphics are cool, but the shrilly squabbling brothers are insufferable, the story's your-turn/my-turn structure is tedious, and its relentlessly reiterated message about brotherly love and cooperation is really grating.
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