Rating:  -
I didn't expect much out of this movie going in but man, this movie was absolutely retarded. I figured at best this would be a fun dumb comedy like Tim Allen's former "Galaxy Quest", wrong. Allen has stooped to a new low, efficiently placing the long over due last nail in the coffin of his career. He's just got this sleazy burnt out attitude through out the entire film. Courtney Cox also gives a less than steller performance (Has she got so much "Friends" cash rolling in that she just doesn't even try any more?). Chevy Chase was kinda funny, but it's a shame, this being his first major role in a while, that this is the best he can get. Granted this is intended to be a family film, but I can't see this movie entertaining anyone over the age of 6(definately not fun for the whole family). The problem is that this movie has been not only done before, but done much better with last years "Sky High". The part of the movie that just made it mind gratingly intolerable was the horrible teeny bopper pop/punk soundtrack blaring throughout the film (Do even our kids wanna listen to "Smash Mouth" anymore? Do people really listen to this crap?). I really tried to enjoy this movie, but I just really, really, really really didn't. You might be able to entertain your little, little kids for 90 minutes by popping this one on, but be forewarned you'll be ready to choke on a bullet after about 5 minutes. This movie is just plain dumb, a complete waste of life.
Rating:  -
I saw this movie with my son & we both enjoyed it thoroughly. I am a Tim Allen fan & enjoy his charming, light-hearted humor. I was not disappointed with this movie. It's a wonderful family film & as soon as it becomes available on DVD, will be a wonderful addition to our collection. Enjoy.
Rating:  -
This movie was great! It was funny, romantic, and best of all a just enjoyable movie! Sometimes it was a bit predictable but it was not so much that you started to fall asleep. I thought that anyone will enjoy this movie! I give it 4 stars!!
Rating:  -
Jack was doing alright in retirement, looking a little haggard in his menial job until a gorgeous woman wearing a frilly green dress gets him involved in a game that only Captain Zoom can accomplish. Chevy Chase as Grant and Rip Torn as Larraby waylay "Jack" and force him to train a new team of super-heroes for a special mission. They come in all sizes, ages and with the special super powers needed for this top secret task.
I predict that Michael Cassidy will be a big star soon with Kevin Zagers, who played Conner, will follow in his footsteps. They were the shining stars in this adaptation of the comic book stories. There will be no frivolity allowed with the two girls, six year old Cindy and the teen who knows things. They are dubbed Princess and Wonder. Michael is Houdini who falls for Wonder, and Mega Boy is the most wondrous of them all. They were termed by their peers as misfits and weirdos. Dylan (Houdini) is the typical rebellious teenager who is almost a genius -- and we all know that they don't fit into today's education system at all.
Jack's number one fan appears to have an inner ear problem, as she falls a lot. Little Cindy loves to wear costumes like Cher, only hers are more juvenile. She's a knockout in the Hawaiian outfit, the pink poodle, and ballerina (like Kaleena). She soon learns the truth about her hero, that he has feet of clay and only cares about himself. Jack tells the young crew he is training them to be a team, that he is so sorry, truly, for putting them in danger. He has learned the reason for the mission -- to trap his brother Conner who had turned to the Dark Side. Wow, his super powers were on a bigger scale than Zoom's. Kevin Zeger was quite fantastic with the changeable color of eyes he has during his super powers. He hadn't aged a bit, contrary to his brother Jack.
We all need someone to care, and this young group learned to feel as a family as they mastered their individual skills and melded into a real super-hero team. You must see the flying saucer at the Wendy's drive-thru, used I suppose to get them over the slump of the finger in the chili. There was a full moon as they landed in the desert where the lab was underground beneath large rocky cliffs. I found the outdoor simulation disgusting, but I don't like bathroom humor. As they reach their potential and work to right the wrong, they have learned to follow their instincts and trust each other and their leader, Jack,(Tim Allen) who fully realizes that he has not lost his powers either. Is this our only option? The dark side has more strength as Conner arrived in a whirlpool of evil from which they were able to extract him. I hope you are not disappointed. The song, "It's Not Easy To Be Me," would have been alright except for the bad voice singing it. After they rescued the 'good' Conner, Jack's brother and not the evil super-power, everyone was happy. They were just having fun, but can I ever get over the insults. Things got back to normal, and the foursome go their separate ways with their dreams realized.
Rating: -
This is a SPOILERS-plagued review.
When the world is once again placed in imminent peril, General Larraby (Rip Torn), the head of a military secret ops, is forced to reactivate Project Zenith, a program meant to bring up to speed a new generation of superheroes. Tim Allen plays Jack Shepherd (aka Captain Zoom), an out of shape, cynical, ex-costumed crimefighter who hasn't fought crime in 30 years. You see, Zoom, as a youngster, was a member of the Zenith Team, along with his older brother Connor, aka Concussion. Larraby, whose military arm funded the supergroup, decided to boost the members' powers by exposing them to gamma radiation. I guess he wasn't taking Bruce Banner's phone calls that week, because these gamma ray things never, ever work. Zoom ended up losing his powers and Concussion turned evil and killed off the rest of the Zenith Team. Concussion, at last, was sent packing to another dimension, where he still waits to return to wreak more devastation.
The movie properly begins 30 years later, as Jack Shepherd is recalled to work and is given the task of teaching at a superhero academy/military facility (Area 52). There, he must mentor and develop a group of raw, hapless kids into a cohesive batch of heroes. The prospective team consists of Summer (Kate Mara), a very unpopular high school 16 year old, who has telekinetic powers; Cindy (Ryan Newman), a cute 6-year-old girl with super strength; Dylan, a a 17 year old (Michael Cassidy) who becomes invisible; and Tucker (Spencer Breslin), a 12-year-old chubby kid who can expand any part of his anatomy. Jack, at first, is very reluctant about training this band of misfits but, in due course, has a change of heart and begins to take his job seriously. Over time, Jack regains his superspeed ability and becomes the team's field commander. Together, with the help of geeky but lovely head researcher Marsha Halloway (Courtney Cox-Arquette), who has a secret of her own, this band of misfits must come together and thwart the worrisome return of Jack's evil brother, Concussion.
Based on the graphic novel "Zoom's Academy for the Super Gifted" from Jason Lethcoe, the film is adapted by Adam Rifkin (Mousehunt, Small Soldiers, and the upcoming Underdog and He-Man projects), re-written by Jordan Roberts (March of the Penguins, narration credits) and helmed by Pete Hewitt (Garfield and the very good Princess of Thieves, starring Kiera Knightley). Zoom was supposed to have been released earlier on May 12, two weeks before the theatre release of X-Men: The Last Stand. But 20th Century Fox and Marvel Comics filed suit against the Sony/Revolution Studios, accusing them of copycatting and piggy-backing the Marvel franchise.
How does the movie differ from the book? Well, Zoom has been tweaked a bit for cinema consumption, and I think for the worse. Gone is the main focal point of the book, which is main character Summer's feelings of isolation and alienation and how it turns around for her with her entry into Zoom's Academy, as she becomes empowered. Here, she is just one of the gang, without a chance to really wallow in teenage angst, as the focus shifts to Tim Allen's character. And gone, for now (dunno if there's gonna be a sequel), is the Academy's nemesis, the Grave's School for the Villainous Arts, as the film half-heartedly resorts to Concussion as the main heavy.
I'm not gonna kid ya, this isn't as good as the Incredibles; but very few films in this genre could be. Zoom isn't even as good as Sky High or Spy Kids, who at least took the premise seriously. Zoom plays it for pre-teen laughs all the way, falling back on kid characters such as the Snot Kid or Jupiter, the Gas Giant (guess his super power) for high hilarity.
Having done Galaxy Quest, Santa Clause and Toy Story, kid-favorite Tim Allen is perfectly at home playing a family-friendly superhero. Once again, his quintessential average guy charm and smart-alecky humor serves him well. He is kid-friendly and easy-going and is very good at mining the beleaguered mentor/father-figure role for laughs and empathy. Tim Allen knows which films are suited for his not-too-deep talents. He doesn't seem to "act" as much as have fun and play his roles naturally (but maybe there's more to his "acting" than that). He overdoes it here with the belching, though.
On paper, you'd think this film would be enlivened by this pretty good cast. It isn't. I guess Chevy Chase really did stop making good movies after Foul Play. In this one, his irritating, incessant mugging just gets on my nerves. And the writer(s) does wrong with Courtney Cox-Arquette, as her Marsha Halloway becomes a fawning and over-the-top-klutzy scientist and Zoom's biggest fan. Again, her constant clumsiness and frequent crashes to the floor obviously play to the kids' brand of humor. The normally capable Rip Torn (Men In Black) once again digs into an officious, authoritarian role. But, this time, he doesn't fare as well. His Larraby is strident and one note; and his mustache, ever poised at full aggresive bristle, only seems to accentuate his phoned-in effort. I don't know too much about the kid actors but they look quite promising. Watch out for Ryan Newman as she steals all the scenes as the superstrong, willful little girl Cindy. Kate Mara as Summer is very watchable but doesn't get enough screen time to truly stand out.
There are obvious parallels drawn with the Harry Potter and The Bad News Bears series, but those parallels jarringly stop when it comes to quality and film smarts, of which this film shows a decided lack. This is another occassion where the duplicitous nature of trailers rears its ugly head. There's an abrupt, scattershot feel to the film, as the kids, for most of the time, are unruly and undisciplined; yet, within a too short span, they become this cohesive, highly efficient unit. The CGI is mostly effective, excepting the moments when Mega Kid (Tucker) is displaying his power (sorry, it looks too fake). The humor, as mentioned above, caters to the tots and pre-teens, and, I guess, the juvenile at heart. Zoom is a harmless, good natured effort, if more fluff than film. My prediction is that star Tim Allen, a supporting cast of some talent, and pretty good-looking production values ($60 million budget) are enough to elevate this film to modest summer hit status.
Even though the above is designated with a four star rating, this is actually a three star review. It could've been vastly better, but, as it is right now, and bearing in mind the film's target audience, it's not unpalatable.
|
