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What do Tim Robbins and Ashton Kutscher have in common – other than both are married to senior citizens? It’s that now both have been suckered into doing projects with MTV’s Punk’d sidekick Dax Shepard.
This movie is a sort of modern day, hi-tech version of The Wizard of Oz that takes place in space. Zathura starts when an argument between brothers leads one of them to find the game Zathrua hidden in the basement. The youngest brother starts playing the game hoping his older brother will join in. What they don’t realize is that this isn’t any ordinary game. They suddenly find themselves, along with their house and sister, hurled deep into space. The object of the game is to successfully overcome real obstacles like meteor showers, alien attacks and out-of-control robots to ultimately make their way to the planet Zathura. Along the way they must make life and death decisions and are helped by a stranded astronaut. The catch is, if they can’t get to Zathura, they will never return home again.
Zathura’s novel premise and ingenious special effects make it an entertaining experience for younger viewers. Unfortunately, its simple story and mediocre dialogue keep it from being a winner for adults. As for the acting, Dax Shepard’s performance as a wandering astronaut seems adequate, but his previous exposure as part of MTV’s Punk’d is too distracting for those familiar with the show. Visually, this movie is spectacular, but it falls far too short in other areas to make it a must see.
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