"You guys actually set the house on fire?!"

-Lisa

Young brothers, Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and Danny (Jonah Bobo) are left home with their older sister, Lisa (Kristen Stewart) when their Dad has to go into work. Danny finds a board game called Zathura in the basement and starts a game with Walter, but as the game begins, the siblings find themselves in outer space. Having to deal with meteor showers, killer robots, and man-eating aliens, the only way for them to get home is to beat the game and make it to Zathura,









What Works:





Like both of the Jumanji movies, Zathura is straight up just a really fun movie. I love the whole board game coming to life premise and it is used very effectively here. There are a lot of really fun and entertaining sequences and the movie makes me want to go play the board game, which is pretty much the highest praise I can give this kind of movie.





Generally, I find kids irritating in movies, and while both Danny and Walter are annoying in their own ways, that's the point of the film, so it doesn't bother me. The film is about the two of them fixing their relationship and as I have a younger sister that I used to fight with all the time, this really resonated with me. Their relationship is extremely realistic and I enjoy their character arcs.





The practical effects are also really cool. I love that they actually made a killer robot and built the alien costumes. It all has a very 1950's sci-fi vibe and I like that they put the effort in on that front. This could have been an total CGI-fest and I appreciate that they didn't go that route.





The acting is pretty solid from most of the cast. Hutcherson, Stewart, Dax Shepard, and Tim Robbins are all talented actors and have had solid careers. They all do a great job in this movie.



