In seeking to entertain adults as well as children, director Jon Favreau (Elf) may have overplayed his hand a bit on the grown-up side.
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
Zathura is most interesting and least predictable in its opening scenes -- before the impressive special effects take over.
Zathura can be enjoyed solely as a sci-fi adventure. But it also sneaks in a couple of messages for those receptive to them.
If adults find a drawback, it's in watching the old home and its beautiful woodwork destroyed in serial blastings and smashes. But there are no dumb songs, small jokes slip in neatly and Zathura can please its market niche (mostly sub-12).
Although Zathura lacks the Robin Williams star power of Jumanji, it has a more adventurous and energetic aura. In fact, it's a nonstop romp through the imagination.
The zingy wit and ingenuity of the film's early scenes gradually fades, as Zathura becomes an increasingly repetitive series of action sequences, each noisier than the last.
Zathura may be one of those rare cases of a sequel being better than the original.
Director Jon Favreau, coming off Elf, keeps Zathura moving, but never fast enough to make it fly.
Your children will probably love it, and you won't feel lobotomized in the process.
Zathura serves up kid-friendly sci-fi thrills, along with a little nostalgia for grownups. Its low-tech special effects are a refreshing departure from the CG norm.
Director Jon Favreau ... mostly keeps it exhilarating rather than headache-inducing.
Zathura is basically Jumanji in outer space -- and even without Robin Williams, this is still a singularly loud, charmless and overbearing family movie that could use a hit or two of Ritalin.
A wild buckle-up-and-blast-off adventure that plunges every corner of kids' favorite subject.
The best adaptation yet of a Chris Van Allsburg (Jumanji, The Polar Express) children's book, Zathura confirms director Jon Favreau's mastery of the retro-cool family-film format.
The performances, lavish special effects, the setting and Favreau’s pacing combine in a winning adventure.
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.
Zathura is easygoing, brashly humorous and a lot less interested in technology than adventure.
The special effects and story do most of the heavy lifting, [but] it's surprising and gratifying how well acted Zathura is...
It's fine for third-grade boys who thrive on action only, but this just ain't whimsical enough for everyone else.
There is a wonderful old-fashioned zest to "Zathura," an air of jet-propelled innocent wonder that has just enough modern grounding and grumbling to ring emotionally true. It's the sort of movie that feels simultaneously classic and new.
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