Zathura Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)November 23rd, 2005
ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2005 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
Directed by Jon Favreau (ELF) and written by David Koepp (WAR OF THE WORLDS) and John Kamps (THE BORROWERS), based on the novel by Chris Van Allsburg (JUMANJI), ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE is truly a wonderful adventure for all ages. This delightfully retro tale, which is set in an old house and has vintage looking cinematography to match, concerns an ancient mechanical board game that two squabbling brothers come to play one day when their dad (Tim Robbins in a cameo) has to go into the office briefly. Although their sassy sister Lisa (Kristen Stewart, PANIC ROOM) is nominally supposed to watch over them, she has zoned out into her own teenage world thanks to big headphones and a large comforter. The house could start exploding, and she would never know, which is exactly what begins to happen.
Jonah Bobo and Josh Hutcherson are the terrific young actors who play Danny and Danny's older brother Walter. Being in the fourth grade, having a girlfriend and being able to catch a football, Walter is way too cool to put up with his immature and dorky younger brother. In a story with some nice messages, magically told, the two of them come to learn the hard way that they need to stick together and take care of each other.
Although Walter is too grown up to do whatever it is that his brother wants to do, he finds himself forced to play Zathura, a dusty old board game that Danny discovers in the basement. The first card that shoots out of the game says, "METEOR SHOWER: Take Evasive Action." Trust me. This is the type of game which demands your full attention. No sooner has Walter laughed off the card than their house becomes a shooting gallery. They take refuge in the fireplace. Their resourcefulness will be tested many times before the game is over, and they finally make their way back to Kansas -- or wherever the story is set.
Continuing with his old fashioned theme, Favreau eschews the use of computer generated animation. Danny, Walter and Lisa's house, which is tossed about like Dorothy's was by the tornado in THE WIZARD OF OZ, is created by the use of models, not CGI. The "monsters" that the kids come across, as they try to finish the game, are straight out of old sci-fi films and shows. A meat-eating race of large lizards are clearly just men in rubber suits, and a defective robot appears like it just left the set from the "Lost in Space" television series. Overall, this live-action movie brings to the big screen the same wonderment that THE IRON GIANT did in an animated film. And the toys in the story all look like they are on loan from TOY STORY.
This extremely cute adventure is certain to keep you laughing and smiling from beginning to end whether you are six or a hundred and six.
ZATHURA: A SPACE ADVENTURE runs 1:41 but feels shorter. It is rated PG for "fantasy action and peril, and some language" and would be acceptable for kids around 6 and up -- maybe younger, depending on how well they can handle slightly scary stories.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United State. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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