I remember seeing the previews for "Zatura: A Space Adventure" back in 2005 and thinking that the premise for this one is pretty much "Jumanji"....which it is. While not a sequel, the game clearly is a reworking of the original story. So, if you like one, you'll likely enjoy the other.When the story begins, a divorced dad (Tim Robbins) is trying to work as his bratty kids are being...well...brats. Eventually, after Dad leaves, the youngest finds a game called "Zathura" and when he starts playing it, the game becomes real. Suddenly the house is transported to outer space and the only conceivable way to get back is to, apparently, complete the game with his annoying and occasionally hateful brother. In the process, they meet an astronaut, a murderous robot and meat-eating lizard creatures.The visuals in this film are mind-blowing...particularly for 2005. So much CGI was used...and it looks real. In fact, the CGI and stunts are second to none. As for the story, it's decent but has two minor problems--you really hate the three siblings and the story will be less interesting to adults and is too violent and scary for younger kids. Worth seeing with your kids.

It is impossible to watch Zathura without drawing comparisons to Jumanji. A game in which the players experience what the game card reads. Although Zathura is very much like Jumanji, Jumanji was much better. The only real advantage Zathura had over Jumanji was the CGI.Two feuding siblings with divorced parents discover the game Zathura. One of the two opens it and takes a turn when the other refused to play. Well, once the game begins it must be played until completion so the older brother was forced to play the game.They are faced with one death defying situation after another if they don't kill each other first. The two brothers were constantly bickering and fighting so much that it became headache inducing. When they weren't at each other's throats it was a fun movie.

Zathura: A Space Adventure is a good movie with a reasonably well developed plot and a talented cast. It's a very fun film that takes the basic concept of Jumangi by having a board game that causes disastrous effects when being played, and is entirely unlike it in any way other than that. Instead of taking place in the real world, the characters in this movie remain at home, that is transported to space. A lot of fun characters and chaos ensues as the kids try to get their home back to earth. It is a little slow for a kids film, it tends to drag on with certain sequences a lot more than we would have expected from a Jumangi movie. It is certainly less adventure filled, being a lot more grounded, very character based. I thought the characters in this movie were developed really well, and the young actors suited the personalities perfectly. I found myself really caring for Walter, Danny and Lisa, far more than I did for the main characters in Jumangi. I thought Dax Shepard was terrific as the unnamed Astronaut, his character had an excellent arch that stretches far beyond what any of us would have expected. He serves as this movies Robin Williams, being the one who has already experienced the board game, and helping the kids win by avoiding the mistakes he made. I was very intrigued by Shepard's performance. Harmless fun from start to finish. Funny and heartwarming, Zathura: A Space Adventure is far better than I had anticipated, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good family film, genuinely enjoyable for all ages. Two young boys are transported in to space, along with their older sister, as a result of a board game that they must win in order to return home. Best Performance: Dax Shepard

Okay so I decided to sit down and watch this because... It was on TV and MirrorMask would play next. When I did sit down to watch it what I got was probably one of the dumbest family films I've ever seen (I say "one of the" because the animated Titanic movies exist).The plot is that 2 kids sit down and play a magic board game while their father is out and their older sister watches them. They play through together with the help of a stranded astronaut who has played the game before and their older sister.Okay down to my complaints. The dialogue is some of the laziest I've ever heard. Lines dominate the movie which tell us exactly what's going on screen. Why did they say it? I mean it's like the screenwriter thought that nobody would pay attention to what's going on and just added in the lines to recap "okay, this is what's going on, are you looking at the screen yet?".The acting is bad. I mean when one of the best performances in the movie is Kirsten Stewart then you have some spectacularly bad problems with casting. I'm not kidding when I type this either, she goes over-the-top in a way that could be laughed at.Then there's the drags to the film. There's a simple scene where the 2 bad acting kids resume playing the game, okay seems simple enough. They drag this for what feels like an eternity showing them arguing while the astronaut calms them down... For about 5 seconds, as they continue dragging the film to yet another complete halt. The worst of them being the 20 minutes of them trying to get the game board from an alien race.The story arc of Walter is rushed to an extent where it's almost literally blink and you'll miss it. The story arc consists of him not liking his brother and the astronaut for less than 10 seconds explains why they should value each other and... That's it, the entire movie from the perspective of this kid is changed literally within moments.So this movie has a lot of things wrong with it. I mean the acting aside from the astronaut ranges from "not caring" to "over the top", The constant detours drag this film heavily, the story arcs are literally blink and you'll miss it and the dialogue is not needed to an extent that you can cut out half of it and you'll miss nothing.