Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005)

Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005)

7/10

Starring

Josh Hutcherson

Jonah Bobo

Dax Shepard

Kristen Stewart

Tim Robbins

Directed by Jon Favreau

Zathura: A Space Adventure is the 2005 non-connected sequel to the 1995 movie Jumanji. On its own, Zathura is a very good movie—it’s fun, interesting, and like Jumanji (1995), it boasts some fantastic child actors. Jonah Bobo takes this movie to a new level with his performance. For me, it was him and him alone who made the movie shine.

Like Jumanji, Zathura is based on a children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg, published in 2002. Although the author made connections between Zathura and Jumanji in his book, you won’t see those links in this movie.

The plot follows two brothers, Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and Danny (Jonah Bobo). Also in the movie are their sister Lisa (Kristen Stewart) and their dad (Tim Robbins), but the main focus is on the brothers’ relationship. Walter and Danny are four years apart, which naturally leads to sibling rivalry—and Danny isn’t completely innocent when it comes to causing trouble.

After both brothers get on their father’s nerves for not getting along, Danny finds a game in the basement called Zathura. He takes it to Walter and asks if they can play together. When Walter says no, Danny tries to play alone, and just like in Jumanji, things start to get wild.

After Danny pushes the first button, a meteor shower storms through the living room, leaving the house in chaos. The kids open the door to see where they are—thanks to the holes left by the meteor shower, they can see the sky—only to discover their house is now floating in space. They take the game upstairs to show their sister, who doesn’t believe them. When Walter takes his turn, Lisa gets frozen (so Kristen Stewart is essentially either absent or frozen for most of the movie).

The brothers read the rules and realize they have to finish the game to get back home. As you can guess, every time they play, something new happens, making it harder for them to complete the game.

One turn brings a warship attacking them, while another brings help in the form of a stranded astronaut (Dax Shepard). He joins them and helps as they continue playing the game.

Zathura wasn’t a box office success, and it wasn’t until much later that the movie was considered a Jumanji sequel—before the next two films starring Dwayne Johnson came along. I liked this movie when I was younger, and I still do now. I’m not a huge fan of the newer versions of the series, and honestly, I prefer Zathura to both Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019).