Review

Review Date: 13-November-05
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Zathura (2005)

The house that serves as the sole setting for "Zathura" is a marvelous thing, a broad-eaved, wood-paneled bungalow with long halls, high ceilings, and a dumbwaiter that attests to admirable age. I love well-kept treasures like this, and it almost pained me to watch it get shredded to bits.

But I am showing my own not-so-admirable age by overlooking the point of "Zathura," which is how such a house is made a home by the love that resides within it. This finely crafted fairy tale for kids and adults tells of an afternoon when 6-year-old Danny (Jonah Bobo) and 10-year-old Walter (the talented Josh Hutcherson) reach the acme of a rivalry in which the older brother feels stifled and the younger brother feels neglected. After their father (Tim Robbins) leaves them in the nominal care of their teenage sister (Kristen Stewart), the boys start an argument that leads to Danny's exile in the basement and the discovery of a board game promising adventure. As soon as Danny begins to play, the house and everyone in it are sent millions of light years into space, from which the only return is to finish the game.

Of course, the route to Earth and understanding isn't easy, and each step (announced with the satisfying snap of a player's card) is more perilous than the last. As their sister sleeps, oblivious to the turn of events, the boys manage to escape meteors and a monster robot with a sinister gleam in its eyes. Yet their animosity remains, evinced in Walter's confident insistence that they do what needs to be done and Danny's fear that he will never live up to expectations. Only after they attract hostile space lizards and rescue a passing astronaut (Dax Shepard) do they begin to come together as a team. (Incidentally, this is the second time this year that Robbins has had slithery aliens in his basement. I wonder if insurance would cover it.)

Directed by Jon Favreau, "Zathura" maintains the right balance between suspense and security and never allows the special effects to detract from the issue of brothers who lack common ground. Indeed, the painful separation between Danny and Walter can be felt in every scene, even as the action pulses with enjoyable excitement. Such a strong focus elevates "Zathura" from simple escapism to eloquent fantasy. This is the kind of story you long for in your dreams: a journey to a wondrous land that helps you find your way home, i.e., the place where what you need isn't missing.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.