Zathura is a waste of space

Like Jumanji, Zathura is about children being sucked into a curiously named board game; also like Jumanji, it's based on a book by Chris van Allsburg. I'm bewildered as to why it has attracted a 12A certificate, when it is pretty harmless stuff, aimed at boys between eight and 11.

It's even harder to see why accompanying adults should be made to endure an unsophisticated space opera that suffers from a childish sense of humour and disappointing special effects, including some very derivative monsters.

Director Jon Favreau doesn't disguise the story's episodic nature or the thinness of the characters, but he keeps everything pacy. He taps into boys' imagination and portrays the young male heroes with relative realism.The target audience for this movie will enjoy it a lot.

Adults, however, may find the two brothers (Jonah Bobo and Josh Hutcherson) distinctly obnoxious as they spend the first half-hour bickering and shouting at each other.

The movie is supposed to illustrate the importance of families coming together, but it wouldn't have worried me if this pair had been blasted off into outer space and never returned.

Zathura: A Space Adventure
Cert: PG