Zathura: I was one of the eight or so adults who actually liked Jumanji, so of course Zathura interested me. And it did indeed share a lot of the same qualities: children stumble upon old board game, start playing, and everything comes to life with lots of pleasantly predictable action. There were also parts that were a bit too much like Jumanji, including some notable “surprises.” Near the end was a nonsensical plot twist involving the astronaut. We were so baffled we went to the local Barne to look up the book it was based on, which turned out to be a picture book that had no astronaut in it at all. Now, I’m all for altering the book’s storyline – even drastically – to make a better movie, but if you’re going to introduce a whole new character they should at least fit in there logically. That was my only complaint, which is admittedly a rather major one; otherwise it was a perfectly enjoyable children’s adventure movie. There’s a shortage of these. Too many children’s movies trip over themselves with sly winks or sappy memorabilia for the adults watching. Believe it or not, it is possible to make a good movie without any parts that children won’t understand. Zathura, despite its logical flaws, shows this. Here’s hoping Hollywood keeps trying.
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