Zathura: Critic Reviews

Zathura is a rarity: a stellar fantasy that faces down childhood anxieties with feet-on-the-ground maturity.

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.

If you enjoyed Jumanji, the Robin Williams film about the board game with the wild animals that come to life, then ... the rest of this sentence should read: "...you are a dullard who should be slapped repeatedly."

Thanks in part to its over-reliance on special effects, the result seems all too familiar.

Zathura salutes the low-tech magic that lurks inside a board game -- that hidden ability to bring people together.

Rarely is a movie audience asked to put up with so much noise for such a thankless payoff as it must with Zathura.

Let's play Jumanji! No, let's not, but say we did -- in space!

Zathura, Jon Favreau's adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's kid-lit adventure of the same name, more than fills the bill -- though it's unlikely to draw anyone over the age of 11 (not counting baby-sitters).

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 may be Jumanji in outer space. And the way the plot works out is not exactly rocket science. But the way it flies is very cool.

Zathura is a rousing tale with an agreeable balance of fear and teachable moments, the kind of adventure story that seems old-fashioned these days.

Zathura lacks the undercurrents of archetypal menace and genuine emotion that informed The Polar Express. But it works gloriously as space opera.

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.

Favreau draws the audience in by keeping it simple.

The special effects never overshadow the story, which is just down-to-earth enough to resonate with younger viewers.

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.

The best that can be said for Zathura is that it meets expectations, which is becoming more and more rare at the movies.

Arguably the best adaptation of a Chris Van Allsburg book to date.

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.

Director Jon Favreau, coming off Elf, keeps Zathura moving, but never fast enough to make it fly.

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 is easygoing, brashly humorous and a lot less interested in technology than adventure.

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?).

Favreau again delivers that rare beast -- a family film that even childless adults can enjoy.

The movie has a lot of the elements that might make it thrilling and it's visually arresting, but it's missing the emotional connection necessary to make it interesting.