Others say...

"Great family movie!"
This is a great family movie! Has all the elements to keep you glued to your seat - from beginning to end. Even adults will find themselves happy they tuned in....So get the snacks ready and settle in for an awesome movie! The story - without giving away too much - is about two brothers who find themselves with an old board game that the younger brother is anxious to play while the older one begrudgingly agrees to play - with much complaining. Parents are gone for the evening and an older sister - who is supposedly babysitting, has better "teenage" things to do in her room (no worries, everything is clean in this movie)...
Well, once the board game begins, all chaos breaks loose! There's everything that makes a great movie GREAT! Explosions, fighting, monsters, heros! The suspense keeps you on the edge of your seat! The acting is excellent without the heavy egos of the top celebrity names. I've heard there's a copy cat movie called Jumnji, haven't seen it, nor do I have any plans to see it. This is one rare family movie that really captures all the great adventures into one fantastic story.

"ZATHURA ROCKS"
My kids LOVE!!!!! this movie. Except for a slightly scary part in the middle, my 6 year old twins have watched this movie over and over and over again for the past 2 weeks. My son is AOK with the ZORGON creatures, but my daughter has to leave the room for a short time when they appear. Otherwise, I would recommend watching this movie for yourself in order to better judge the reaction your own child will have to the ZORGON's. ENJOY

"Vulgarity and Profanity ruin a potentially good family movie"
Once again Hollywood has chosen to ruin a potentially good family/childrens movie by including foul vulgar language. How some can label this as a good family movie is beyond me. I have higher standards and values for my family I guess. Yes this is suppose to be a Jumanji sequel but unfortunately Zathura was made in todays society where the norms of lewd vulgar and profanity are being accepted as healthy family values. This society is sicko.

"Ruined by two foul words"
I never write reviews, but how could I resist when this request appeared on my e-mail? My three-year-old son called me a "bi-atch" the other day. I was shocked -- we don't even have TV! After questioning his teachers at school, I gave up on finding the source until I heard this movie play in our van. The first thing Walter says to his robot is, "Get me a juice box, bi-atch." I also have to point out that Sammy screams, "You're such a dick" to his brother in the first 20 minutes of the movie. Now why on earth would they have to ruin such a good movie with two words?

"Half entertaining, half ball-being-dropped"
Ever watch a movie that you really enjoyed from a long time ago and even though you have so much issues with it, you almost defend it anyway? One such film was "Jumanji" where the special effects have aged considerably since its release but the charm and even spectacle of it all makes it better even while you might scoff many times. Well essentially we have that movie set in space with this film, a "Jumanji: The Galaxy Edition" if you will, and while the similarities are quite obvious and the effects have gotten better, it still feels to familiar though kids might have a blast with it.

Walter and Danny are 2 brothers dealing with their parent's divorce and father's working. Walter wants attention from his dad to play catch and wants nothing to do with his brother while Danny just wants his brother to play with him. But with dad gone and sister upstairs sleeping, they learn to work together when Danny finds a board game called "Zathura" that brings with it meteor showers and the house flying through space complete with strange and dangerous events every time one takes a turn.

Yeah, you can see the parellels to Jumanji already huh? The board game, reading the next event (off a card instead of a glass center, the dealings with a cheater and someone who escapes from the game because of a roll, sorry...button press) and if you remember what happens when someone wins the board game in the other one well you can tell what's in this one. But aside from the similarities, the problem is the film is kind of - but not all the time - irritating, mainly due to the brother's. They spent so much time bickering and arguing that Tim Robbin's exasperation early on doesn't seem like an overreaction at all. While there's lots to ogle at, the characters themselves just don't have a lot of appeal.

However, the film certainly looks great to look at with an early meteor shower, an encounter to close to a star and the end sequence being highlights. Since a good chunk of it was done without just going straight to the computers was everything is welcome. The acting when it's not being grating, works and looking at Kristen Stewart any chance I can made the film better but the lack of suspense throughout the whole film and just being little mini-episodes till the end hurts and the "villain" doesn't have a real sense of threat Jonathan Hyde brought to Jumanji. But I'm nitpicking and I certainly don't want to seem like I'm making that film to be perfectly awesome but when compared to this one, what it lacks in effects makes up for it in key areas.

I'd recommend Zathura since ultimately it is a family movie and such criticisms tend to get thrown out the door when you watch but when you start really watching, then stuff gets noticed. So it's best to just go along with it.