Movie Info

RATING:

PG for brief rude humor, language and mild action

GENRE:

Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Kids/FamilY

RELEASE:

Aug. 11, 2006

STARRING:

Tim Allen, Courteney Cox Arquette, Chevy Chase, Spencer Breslin, Kate Mara

DIRECTOR:

Peter Hewitt

DISTRIBUTOR:

Sony Pictures Releasing

 

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MOVIE REVIEW

Zoom

Movieguide Magazine

What's This?

CBN.com - Zoom is a clean wholesome kids show that features Tim Allen’s signature style of comedy in a story that is less than original. Allen plays a former superhero named “Zoom.” He used to be very fast. He is called out of retirement to train a group of children with superpowers so they can save the world from an approaching threat. The children include a teenage boy who can disappear (Michael Cassidy) and teenage girl who can levitate objects (Kate Mara), an eight-year-old boy who expands from plump to enormous (Spencer Breslin) and a six-year-old girl with super strength (Ryan Newman). Courteney Cox plays a clumsy technician at the training center and Chevy Chase is underutilized as a scientist at the facility.

Allen is reluctant in his work because as a child in the same program he and the other children in the program were given radiation treatments to enhance their powers. This led to his own loss of powers and to his brother going to the dark side and using his powers for evil.

Predictable gags abound in finding and selecting the children to include in the program. The middle of the movie slows to a crawl as the children are being trained and the conclusion is so predictable they could have filmed it without a script. If you’re less than 13-years-old, however, you might find the movie enjoyable.

Where are the scriptwriters capable of creating amazing new adventures for family audiences? Do they all work for Pixar?

To the movie’s credit, it contains no bad language or sex and the violence is mild slapstick superhero variety. The filmmakers even avoided the use of nightmare inducing villains. The filmmakers were clearly not after Academy Awards, they were out to make something children can enjoy and parents can feel good about taking their children to see. For this, we commend them.

Address Comments To:
Michael Lynton
Chairman and CEO
Sony Pictures Entertainment
10202 West Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232-3195
Phone: (310) 244-4000
Fax: (310) 244-2626
Web Page: www.spe.sony.com/

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