Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: David Koepp, John Kamps (Screenplay) Chris Van Allsburg (Book)
Starring: Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim Robbins, Frank Oz
Plot: Two young brothers are drawn into an intergalactic adventure when their house is hurled through the depths of space by the magical board game they are playing.
Tagline – A new adventure from the world of Jumanji
Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Fun Family Adventure
Story: Zathura: A Space Adventure starts as two brothers Danny (Bobo) and Walter (Hutcherson) are trying to get the attention of their father (Robbins), with his work getting in the way they must learn to occupy themselves, which leads to them finding a board game Zathura which leads to them ending up in outer space.
The two brothers must learn to put their differences behind them to survive the game which is filled with multiply different space based threats.
Thoughts on Zathura: A Space Adventure
Characters – Danny is the youngest of the three children, he wants to be accepted by his brother even though he isn’t as good at sports and has a habit to cheat when playing games. Walter is the middle child, he wants to spend time with his father and get angry when Danny is allowed time too, he hates having Danny around never wanting to spend time with him. The Astronaut is a stranger from the game that assists the brothers through the game.
Performances – The performances are next up and we must first consider that we have two child actors, they are good in their arguments and it is strange to see that only one made it to the adult level in Josh Hutcherson. Dax Shepard is good and never gets to the annoying we know from him now, while Stewart and Robbins are good for the supporting roles.
Story – The story does follow many of the same ideas as Jumanji, we have two brothers this time being forced into playing the game, needing to put aside their difference to finish the game to return to normality. We have the similar peril only in space which brings a freshness into the concept, there is a weird side story going on which brings a twist which is disturbing more than clever. If you want something just fun, this will hit the marks.
Adventure/Fantasy/Sci-Fi – The adventure takes our two brothers to a place they could never imagine which plays into the fantasy elements of the film, the sci-fi side of things takes the whole story into space.
Settings – The film is set inside the house, which is works because what would happen if your house was in space suddenly.
Special Effects – The effects are surprisingly brilliant, I say this because Jumanji had weak effects, even though this is set in space it never looks out of place.
Scene of the Movie – The game first moments.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The twist seems weird.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun family film that can be enjoyed by everyone, it feels like it has full adventure that can be enjoyed by all.
Overall: One for the adventure fans out there.
Rating
