DVD : Zoom - Academy for Superheroes

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- Great for kids
This movie was not by any stetch a blockbuster, but my kids loved it. We rented it and they watched it 3 times in 2 days. It's clean, has kid based comedy and good role models. No sex, only mild violence, and no substance abuse. Tim Allen is great in it too. It's cute and worth your time.

Rating:

- Not All There
Captain Zoom lost his powers many years ago. But now the world is threatened by the return of Zoom's arch-nemesis; his brother. New heroes must quickly be trained to handle the coming threat. Zoom is impressed into training the new young recruits (from 9 to 19). But military security keeps Zoom from knowing what the training is for. All in all, Zoom is not very motivated to help the program that robbed him of his childhood and family. Eventually Zooms hardened heart is warmed up and he takes the training to heart, but not quite in the way the military would like. Zoom does not want the kids to suffer in the way he did so he takes their side against the military.

As time quickly runs out, Zoom and his new team develop their powers and begin to learn how to work like a team. Finally the dreaded moment arrives and Zoom's brother, Concussion, returns to our dimension. Concussion is angry and looking for some payback. Will the powerless Zoom and his new and untested team be able to stand against Zoom's greatest foe? If they do, how will they handle their relationship with the military? Watch and see.

While watching I had the feeling that the film makers either tried too hard or not hard enough. This is obviously aimed at younger viewers but was cast to also appeal to parents. The editing seems a bit sloppy with continuity of the time line and with reactions to special effects (reactions by Chevy Chase are slow like in a bad low-budget flick). There is humor and a touch of romance but it just doesn't fit smoothly. The wide range of ages was intended to appeal to a larger audience but it was mostly about Zoom and not the kids when it came to actual camera time. Still, it is enjoyable and rather fun. Just don't expect The Incredibles.

Rating:

- Good movie...
It could have been filled with sex, drugs and violence but instead it is a cute movie. I am not saying it is an oscar nomination but at least all the members of the family can watch it, which is the reason we rent movies!

Rating:

- Watch Sky High instead....
Thankfully rented for free from the library, we watched Zoom last night and found it falls rather flat for all audience levels. A poor knock off of Sky High (Widescreen Edition), it may have been meant for a younger audience - like under 6. The only bright spots are the actors who were limited by the poor script and special effects. If you like booger humor than maybe you can get through this one....rent Sky High instead!

Rating:

- Unique Family Movie
There has been a few negative reviews on this movie, but I'd have to disgree with them. The movie is about a washed up Superhero who is being pulled back into the mix by the government organization that originally sponsored his group. The original group having been wiped out by one of the leading members when he was turned evil by a Gamma-13 burst that was intended to make them mor epowerful. This is a classic comic book storyline that they've implemented into a movie setting. Jack Sheperd played by Tim Allen is a smart mouthed and cynical individual who is using his wit as a defense against people seeing the true situation. He was badly scarred emotionally by the loss of his brother and team mates. Then to add insult to injury he lost his powers as well.

This story is a tale about the personal quest of one person to try and overcome his demons while connecting with a new group and preventing something similar from happening to them. Its a very good family movie and I highly recommend it to people who are looking for a simple and entertaining movie.

I think the only point of growth that it could have used is a longer storyline developing out the characters a bit more. They did a very good job in making you connect with them in a short period, but I think the entire movie would have benefitted with having a little more content added to the storyline.

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