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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.
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Genre: Childrens
US 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
Reviews for Zathura
A flawed but likeable and kid-friendly fantasy with smartly blended effects, Zathura is a throwback to the space adventures of the 1980s.
even with all the peril danger and turmoil the game causes, we secretly with that we could open a box from our basement and enter into an adventure like this... at least I do
Gripping adventure with real stakes that keeps building and building. That's more than we can say for most grown-up action movies.
Late-coming satisfaction helps make the movie almost worth the outer space trek.
Here’s a film that is stuffed with cleverness and imagination – one that taps into some of the most primal childhood fantasies of adventure.
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.
The best that can be said for Zathura is that it meets expectations, which is becoming more and more rare at the movies.
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.
Favreau continues to show a real flair for concocting worlds that persuasively blend the real and the fantastic ...
Smart and engaging, Zathura is one big "Check Mate" to Jumanji, a movie it trumps in every way.
A practically-perfect family flick which delivers a big lesson about the true meaning of brotherly love.
Rarely is a movie audience asked to put up with so much noise for such a thankless payoff as it must with Zathura.
When Robbins exits the movie for a business meeting, we kind of wish he'd take us with him.
An odd mix of honesty and hokum that pilots a course toward greatness before settling into a somewhat lower orbit.
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