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25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"What are we? Forming a spelling bee?", August 6, 2006
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.
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