The kids’ characters are largely stereotypical, and could be lifted from any number of mediocre children's movies: The selfish teenage sister who is clueless about her surroundings. The older brother who is a bit of brute. The younger misunderstood brother who just wants love and attention. Too many scenes of the brothers bickering, fighting, arguing or out-and-out screaming at one another detract from what little character growth they eventually achieve.

With legendary special effects wizard Stan Winston on board, “Zathura” is a visually stunning film with an effective “retro” science fiction feel. As stars, comets and space rock drift by the floating house, one can almost suspend belief in the physics that make such things impossible.  The film also creates edge-of-your-seat suspense, as the kids struggle to figure out their situation and avoid the incessant dangers thereof. Unfortunately this action does little to move the story forward. As the boys solve one problem after another, the viewer is left to wonder what random scary thing is going to show up and threaten them next. After a while it just becomes too predictable.

Of course, it’s probably not giving away anything to say that everything works out in the end. Both boys learn their lessons. Cheating is bad, and catches up with you. Siblings should love one another and work together rather than bicker. All vaguely wholesome moral values are learned as the boys dodge meteors, laser blasts and mean-looking beasties.

As a big fan of director Jon Favreau’s work, both as a director and actor, I really wanted to like this movie. His film “Elf” from two years ago was certainly a gem: a great family film that kids love but is also funny for adults as well. Judged this way, "Zathura" misses the mark. Kids will probably enjoy the mindless action, but adults looking for an interesting story or characters will be disappointed.

AUDIENCE:  Generally family, but perhaps too intense for children under age nine.

OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT:

• Drugs/Alcohol:  None.
• Language:  Three or four vulgar words. In one early scene, Danny is rebuked by his father for using bad language.
• Sex:  None. Some may find one of Lisa’s outfits a bit skimpy.
• Violence:  Children's lives threatened throughout most of the film. A killer robot rampages through the house chasing one of the boys. Alien spaceships shoot up the house with the kids inside. The same scary lizard-like aliens who “eat meat” (i.e. people) enter the house and stalk the hiding children. Lots of mayhem, explosions and sci-fi style violence.