void Into the
The Wizard of Oz goes intergalactic when squabbling brothers playing a board game get sucked into space after a meteor punches a hole in the roof
Zathura: A Space Adventure Starring Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart and Tim Robbins. Directed by Jon Favreau. 113 minutes. At major theatres. PG Somebody must have looked at the grosses for Jumanji and decided the time was ripe for a remake. The only astonishing thing is that they waited a full decade to do it. The 1995 children’s adventure about a berserk board game made theatre registers ka- ching to the tune of $265 million ( U. S.) worldwide, enough to rank it 175th on the all- time movie hit list.
Zathura: A Space Adventure
essentially repeats the plot, again adapted from an illustrated fable by Chris Van Allsburg, the only significant difference being that the fun and danger all happen in deep space. What Zathura lacks in originality, it more than makes up in sibling rivalry, which is something of a mixed blessing. As battling brothers Walter, 10, and Danny, 6, Josh Hutcherson and Jonah Bobo are possibly the most realistic pair of squabblers ever to rock a Hollywood rec room. Their constant bickering (“ You’re a baby!” “ No, I’m not!’) is liable to prompt parents in the audience to stand up and shout, “ If you two don’t knock it off right now, I’m turning this car around . . .!” On the other hand, you need this kind of high- energy realism to make up for the lack of star power ( there’s no Robin Williams or Kirsten Dunst this time) and to perk up the stale script by David Koepp ( War of the Worlds) and John Kamps ( Mighty Morphin Power Rangers). Even those who haven’t seen Jumanji are likely to clock very quickly to Zathura’s game.
Walter and Danny are the boisterous and neglected sons of a newly divorced dad ( Tim Robbins, elegantly unhinged) who is finding work to be as vexing as his family life. When dad heads to the office for an emergency business meeting, he leaves behind the bumptious bros, whom he unwisely puts in the care of their sullen teen sister Lisa ( Kristen Stewart). She’s not the most attentive or friendly of caregivers, and can’t understand why dad is upset about her prancing about in her scanties. “ We never should have rented Thirteen!” she wails. Danny and Walter end up in the basement, where all trouble begins, thereupon discovering an old board game, amazingly called Zathura, which might have been designed by the same Commies who built Sputnik.
Before Walter has a chance to shout “ This totally sucks!” ( which he does anyway), the duo find themselves and their home flying through space, wondering if they hitched a ride with Dorothy and Toto.
Stranger yet are the wondrous and fearsome things that pop out each time the handle is cranked for a new turn. There’s a maniacal robot, strange lizard aliens called Zorgons and an obnoxious astronaut ( Dax Shepard) who seems more hungry than helpful. Lisa, meanwhile, ends up frozen and even more annoyed. The game has rules, and Rule No. 1 is that you have to play it to the very end. All of which leads to all manner of excitement, as Danny and Walter pingpong this way and that. But the vile creatures may terrify small fry — those Zorgons are creepy, and they like to eat people.
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. The frights are really frightful, and Lisa’s name really ought to be Lolita. Cameraman Guillermo Navarr seems to think he’s making another Hellboy rather than another Spy Kids ( they’re both on his resumé) since the film is unaccountably dark, although never less than visually stimulating. But credit Favreau, also known as the actor from Swingers, for keeping the sentimental soppiness to a minimum. He likes his children real, his squabbles true and his adventures hands- on. Even the obligatory Wizard of Oz references are given a new spin, as when Walter says, “ I just want to go home!” and Danny retorts, “ What’s so great about home, anyway?”
Kids these days . . .