6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
In this heart-racing sci-fi adventure two squabbling brothers are propelled into deepest, darkest space while playing a mysterious game they discovered in the basement of theirold house. On their fantastic journey, they are joined by a stranded astronaut and must survive meteor showers, hostile lizard-like aliens, a rocket-propelled robot run amok and an intergalactic spaceship battle. Unless they finish the game and reach the planet Zathura, they could be trapped in outer space forever.
Starring: Jonah Bobo, Josh Hutcherson, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart, Tim RobbinsFamily | 100% |
Comedy | 52% |
Fantasy | 18% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Dutch, Indonesian, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Thai
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
BD-Live
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Take your turn.
Every now and then a movie comes along that delivers a completely satisfying
throwback cinema experience that reminds audiences what it really means to be entertained, pulled into another realm where the filmmakers have
visualized a figment of the human imagination with care and a great sense of excitement and honesty. Zathura is one of those movies. It
might not be perfect in the strictest sense of the term, but Director Jon Favreau's film exudes energy like
nothing else and delivers pure cinema as wholesome and mind-bogglingly bigger-than-life fantastical entertainment. It's so well made and so good
at being purely loud and fun that its various shortcomings -- most of them scientific, which in this case in no way hurt the final product -- just
disappear as many a kid's every
fantasy comes alive
on the silver screen. Zathura is a wonderfully-realized and completely engaging film that's focused like a laser beam on fun. It's also large
in
scope, oozing with enthusiasm,
built with seamlessly-constructed special effects, not at all lacking in charm, solidified by strong characterization, and infinitely watchable thanks to
contagiously youthful energy that never lets up.
Let your imagination run wild.
Zathura zooms onto Blu-ray with an eye-catching 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer from Sony. The studio simply knocks this one out of the park; it's a beautifully filmic transfer that offers pristine detailing across the board and in every environment, whether the bright outdoor shots in the family front yard, the warm wooden-accented interiors inside the home, or the crisp star fields of outer space. Clothing and facial textures are also superb as well, as are the smallest little intricacies seen around the frame such as pavement, wood grains, and the battered brushed metal body of the deadly robot that appears in the film. The transfer is naturally sharp and very crisp; the image retains its strong detailing and accuracy even out to a distance, and it's made all the better by the retention of a fine layer of film grain. The color palette -- skin tones included -- appears a bit unnaturally warm, but such seems the picture's natural state and not a problem with the Blu-ray itself. Black levels are rich and exhibit great shadow detail. This is a wonderful transfer in every regard; Sony continues to exhibit dominance in its ability to deliver the best-looking discs on the market.
Zathura's DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack is every bit the match for the crisp visuals. The picture enjoys a big, sweeping, even heroic old-timey Science Fiction-style score that features seamless and rich delivery, natural spacing, and plenty of surround support. The entire soundstage is constantly engaged in the film's many action sequences, with sound effects traversing here and there and everywhere, never losing their authority or clarity as they bombard the listening area with sonic goodness, whether meteorites devastating the house, a robot tearing through it, or aliens shooting deadly projectiles into the now space-based abode. There's always something going on, and Sony's soundtrack handles the most precise little supportive elements and the heaviest action effects alike with equal clarity and ease. The low end delivers some heavy thuds that never overwhelm the rest of the track, instead remaining focused on the job and tight in feel. Dialogue is well-balanced, whether Danny's higher pitched voice, Tim Robbins's even-keeled delivery, or the robot's metallic and penetrating vocals. This is an exciting, well-executed soundtrack that's the perfect compliment to a kid's boisterous fantasy come to life on film.
Zathura launches onto Blu-ray with a nice assortment of extras, with an audio commentary track and several featurettes leading the charge.
Zathura may share with Jumanji the basic common threads of its storyline, but Director Jon Favreau's film is not only the superior of the two in terms of raw craftsmanship and fun factor, it's also pretty much a perfect little kid-centric adventure film that's suitable for the whole family. Sure it flubs some basic scientific truths, but this is a Fantasy/Adventure film, not a dissertation or treatise on how things work in outer space. Zathura is one of those rare movies that just somehow gets everything right, and few movies are as flat-out entertaining, relaxing, and infinitely watchable as this. Sony's Blu-ray release of Zathura is also technically flawless. A pristine 1080p transfer and a wonderful lossless soundtrack make this disc a must-buy, but throw in a nice assortment of extras, and it's up there with some of the best catalogue releases of the year. Zathura earns my highest recommendation.
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