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Zathura opens with two young brothers battling for the attention of their good-natured, but hopelessly busy, father. Ball-tossing turns to bickering; bickering leads to a mild accident, and Dad has to head out to the office, none too thrilled with his hyperactive progeny. Dad leaves Danny and Walter under the attention of their disinterested big sister, and the boys settle in for yet another boring Saturday afternoon.

Yeah, right.

After a nasty trip to the basement, little Danny enters the living room bearing an antiquated old board game called Zathura ... a game that magically transports the entire house into the farthest reaches of outer space. Danny and Walter must complete the game before they can make it back to Earth, but first they'll have to contend with evil alien lizardmen, rampant asteroid attacks, homicidal robots, grabby gravitational fields, and a friendly astronaut who might not be all he appears to be.

Meanwhile, crabby big sis is up in the bathroom, frozen solid by a cryogenic attack.

Frankly, I cannot imagine the 12-year-old boy who will not be absolutely dazzled by the sci-fi spectacle that is Zathura. Director Favreau keeps the action coming fast and furious, and when the flick does slow down, it's laden with moments of high comedy, sweet sincerity, and an undeniable sense of gee-whiz fun. The screenplay, by David Koepp and John Kamps, is stocked with clever ideas, witty rejoinders, and sentimental material that (almost) never feels overdone or outright sappy.

Buoyed by the effortlessly likable young leads and a winning performance by Dax Shepard as "the astronaut," Zathura dances its way through a variety of exciting set pieces, witty character moments, and some special effects that'll have the young-at-heart muttering phrases like "coooooool," before settling down with a finale that's quietly satisfying and (thankfully!) bereft of goopy sentimentalism. Considerably more entertaining than it oughtta be, Zathura is one of this season's most surprising little treats. You'll take your 12-year-old to see it because you're a cool parent, and you'll be rewarded with a movie that's just as entertaining for grown-ups as it is for the wide-eyed preteens in your family.

So let's hear it for Jonny Favreau! Who would have believed that the lovably insecure lug from "Swingers" would prove to be such an astute filmmaker? Favreau takes the indie sensibility for which he's rightfully known, and infuses it (quite delightfully) into a big-budget spectacle that, in the hands of a more cynical director, would have been an eye-popping bore. If I were still 12 years old, "Zathura" would be my new favorite movie, and even at 12, I had very good taste in movies.

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originally posted: 11/11/05 18:58:17
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