Loosely based on the children's book by Chris Van Allsburg, it is an
adventurous, outer space fantasy tale of two siblings.
Ten year old Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and six year old Danny (Jonah Bobo) are two squabbling
brothers. One day their father (Tim Robbins) left them at home for a few hours in the care of their teenage sister Lisa
(Kristen Stewart). Little Danny found himself messing around the basement in search of toys to
play with. He discovers an antique game called Zathura, a board game made of tin.
The game Zathura takes two people to play but Walter didn't want do anything with
Danny, so Danny starts the game himself. Soon he found out that the outer space is live and active with the showers of meteorite, and
that their home is floating in space. Once Danny opened the front door, he found out that
they are hovering in space with their home. A simple rule of the game says that it requires two players to complete the game so Walter is forced to join
Danny because he just wants to return to the Earth.
Soon Walter
and Danny are joined by Lisa as well as an astronaut (Dax Shephard). Together
they run into more problems from malfunctioning robots and attacks by
alien predators Zorgons. They are all forced to work together, otherwise
they will be sucked into the dark outer space of Zathura. Find out, whether
they are going to return to the Earth safely.
Talented director John Favreau skillfully narrates an emotionally resonant tale of
adventure and fantasy. He builds the story on the theme of team work and brotherly
love. His vivid imagination with high quality CG effects give the audience a wonderful
space journey.
Josh Hutcherson and Jonah Bobo, as the two brothers, presents an excellent
performance. They portray well, the playfulness, angry arguments as well as tender brotherly
love with each other.
Some people will say that the film is too imaginative, but once you recognize the rules of
the game it is easy to justify the logic behind the story. It is a well written,
well acted and well directed film. It has it's own funny and entertaining
moments. Overall it is an emotionally vibrant drama that everyone can enjoy.
We rate this movie VERY GOOD.
