The similarities between Zathura and its 1995 counterpart, Jumanji, are so extensive that you will probably end up having exactly the same opinion of the new one as you did of the original. But Zathura is not really a sequel to Jumanji, it’s more of a remake. Strange that a remake would come along so soon after the first movie, but there area some definite leaps forward in terms of special effects, although not in terms of the plot, which is pretty much identical to Jumanji.
An important difference is that the characters in Zathura are three-dimensional and realistic. The performances of the two boys in the movie, as well as the dialogue written for them, approach a level of flawlessness that I would never have expected to see from such young actors. Clearly, it’s not exactly much of a stretch for them to get in character, since they are essentially playing themselves, but these are a couple of the best young performances I’ve ever seen in a movie. Kristen Stewart, who has appeared more more than 20 movies in her less than 20 years, also nails her lines as their disgusted older sister Lisa.
There is a scene mid-way through the movie where, for reasons that should give you an idea of what kind of adventure this is, the family sofa slowly rolls end over end and on fire into the depths of outer space. My immediate reaction was to think ‘Hey, fire doesn’t burn in space…’ and then I remembered that the burning sofa was emerging from a charming two- story home which was orbiting Saturn with two young boys standing on the porch. The application of logic will do nothing but aggravate you and totally ruin the experience.
Tim Robbins has a limited role of a divorced father of two young boys, Walter and Danny, who are just at that age where they fight over everything imaginable. Frustrations are growing as dad needs time to himself for work, Danny wants to play with his older brother, and Walter wants nothing to do with him. 
Dad has to leave them alone for a while to go to the office, and Danny finds a game buried in the basement called Zathura. As was the case in Jumanji, nothing is ever revealed about the history of the game or where it came from, which is probably the movie’s biggest flaw. Danny tries to get Walter to play, but Walter wants to watch ESPN. And as was also the case in the first movie, the game is started accidentally and then All Hell Breaks Loose.
What begins with a harmless indoor meteor shower that completely destroys nothing but the living room soon evolves to the point where the house has been uprooted and put into orbit around Saturn and an armada of space ships piloted by vicious Zorgons are attacking with all manner of alien firepower. Similarities to the first movie get a little too close for comfort when it’s revealed that the boys have to finish the game successfully in order to get back to the real world, but it doesn’t stop the movie from being a lot of fun.
My only real gripe with the movie is that I think they overshot a little bit with the message about the importance of siblings. It’s clear that the movie is aimed for a bit of a younger audience due to the heavy reliance on action and special effects and the thinness of the plot, but when the truth is revealed about the astronaut that fulfills the role of Robin Williams‘ character in Jumanji it’s pretty hard not to roll the eyes at least a little bit. It is, however, an important message, although a little less ham-handedness in the delivery wouldn’t have hurt. 
As a science fiction film the movie works great, especially as a more family-oriented story. The special effects are impressive (particularly the killer robot, which is probably the most consistently outstanding effect in the entire movie) and the dangers of space travel and alien encounters are mixed brilliantly with the storybook adventure of two young boys trapped in a dangerous situation and simply trying to, ah, get home. If nothing else, Zathura must surely be the biggest adventure that two young boys have ever had in trying to get home without ever leaving their house.
Director Jon Favreau first came to my attention in Swingers in 1996 but has lately been making big waves in the directing department. His previous directing features had been Elf and the hilarious 2001 crime comedy Made, and lately he’s been keeping himself busy with the first two Iron Man movies. Zathura seems like a perfect midway point between the amusing comedies of his early directing career and the big-time science fiction that he’s working on now. Zathura is not his best work, but it’s definitely some of the better family- oriented science fiction to come along recently.
3.5 Beans out of 5.
