Zathura lacks the undercurrents of archetypal menace and genuine emotion that informed The Polar Express. But it works gloriously as space opera.
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
The best that can be said for Zathura is that it meets expectations, which is becoming more and more rare at the movies.
An extraterrestrial fantasy, based on a children's book by Chris Van Allsburg, that feels both real and unreal, like a dream you could shake off at any moment.
Gripping adventure with real stakes that keeps building and building. That's more than we can say for most grown-up action movies.
A film experience to treasure. It is difficult to imagine any person of any age going to see Zathura and not being swept away in the sheer spectacle of it all.
Well directed, acted, and written, and is bolstered by a light tone which emphasizes wonder and amazement over shock and awe.
The movie has just the right amount of scariness, just the right amount of humor and just the right amount of magic.
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?).
The movie is so well-paced for much of its run that you barely notice how efficient it is at balancing the all-too human with the otherworldly exotica.
The special effects never overshadow the story, which is just down-to-earth enough to resonate with younger viewers.
After the screening, a preteen next to this critic asked his mom, "Why did you think I wouldn't like this?" There's your endorsement.
For a kid-aimed PG-rated fantasy you could do worse than Zathura: A Space Adventure. Now there's a ringing endorsement. You could do worse.
Although it too predictably stays the course of its predecessor, it's enough of a blast to provide a thrill ride for the kids and be an entertaining (and inevitable) journey for parents.
As great as the effects are, Favreau remembers that they need to be serving something else.
The result is a glorious low-tech pleasure that may be the most lyrical, phantasmagoric boys' adventure story since Joe Dante’s Explorers.
Jon Favreau has struck again with another entertaining and unique effort, and he's thrust himself to forefront as far as directors for this genre go.
Manages to entertain on various levels, excelling as an intense visceral thrill ride, as well as a small-scale drama with emotional punch, all peppered with smart humor.
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