Zathura Review, Trailer, Pic, Movie Poster

Zathura Review

Synopsis: In the early to mid-80's Amblin Entertainment released a string of hits that had families lining up around the block. Walt Disney was having its worst period as a studio and Steven Spielberg's Amblin was picking up the slack. With films such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Gremlins, The Goonies and Back to the Future, Amblin earned its spot at the top as a production company. Its films had a special sort of feel to them that has never been duplicated to this day.

Director Jon Favreau hopes to change all that with the release of Zathura. The movie is based on the book of the same name, which was written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg as a sequel to his 1981 hit, Jumanji. The plot is extremely similar to Jumanji; only set in space. The difference between the film version of Jumanji and the Zathura adaptation is the style of effects and directing.

The story of "Zathura" is that two quarrelsome brothers, Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and Danny (Jonah Bobo), are forced to spend time together when their father (Tim Robbins) leaves them at home to retrieve documents from work. Finding an old tin game called "Zathura" in the basement, the boys begin to play, quickly learning that this game is nothing like they've encountered before. Accidentally sending their home into outer space, freezing their older sister (Kristen Stewart), facing evil aliens (a giant lizard race called the Zorgons) and robots, and meeting a hungry astronaut (Dax Shepard) along the way, Walter and Danny frantically race to finish the game before their father returns home, or at least what's left of their home.

"Zathura" has pure adventure, a heart that doesn't force itself, and visuals that will fuel the dreams of children everywhere for years to come.