Review: Zoom (2006)

Director: Peter Hewitt | 84 minutes | action, family, adventure, science fiction | Actors: Tim Allen, Courteney Cox, Chevy Chase, Spencer Breslin, Kevin Zegers, Kate Mara, Michael Cassidy, Ryan Newman, Rip Torn, Cornelia Guest, Ashton Moio, Thomas F. Wilson, Ridge Canipe, Danny McCarthy, Rashad Richards, David L. Lander, Lauren Sanchez, Willie Garson, Michael Anthony, John Watson, Jane Hajduk, Adam Bocknek, Darryl Flatman, Tommy Chang, zoe Mugford, David Farant, Meg Anderson, Deanna DeLisle, Aaron Abrams, Mia Bernardino, Paul Mota, Gregory White, Neil Whitely, Matthew Wood

In his superhero past, Jack Shepard (Tim Allen) was Captain Zoom, and could run faster than “the trio of superheroes Quicksilver, Flash and Superman put together”. Together with his fellow superheroes, he formed Team Zenith. They save the world several times at the behest of a secret governmental organization led by General Laraby (Rip Torn) and the clumsy scientist Dr. Grant (Chevy Chase). General Laraby thought it would be a good idea to expose his dream team to gamma radiation, but this had catastrophic consequences: Jack’s younger brother, Concussion (Kevin Zegers), underwent an Anakin Skywalker-esque makeover, destroying Team Zenith, like his brother. after. Concussion was sent to another dimension, Jack took early retirement and lost his powers. Thirty years later, there is a plausible threat that Concussion will return to Earth. While grumbling, Zoom is recruited by his old team leaders to assemble a new superhero team to defeat Concussion.

This could make for a nice film, but unfortunately the makers failed on most fronts. Most, because a few facets of the film are still worthwhile. ‘Zoom’ is primarily a comedy, superhero films are made fun of and the characters are allowed to spit some funny one-liners. The result may not be a sequence of funny moments, but there are quite a few comical incidents and dialogues in it. Another strong point of the film is the soundtrack, the songs by Smash Mouth and Enrique Iglesias for example (the inevitable “Hero”) fit the film perfectly and enhance the atmosphere. Where it goes wrong is the script. The motives and backgrounds of the various characters are insufficiently elaborated. For example, Jack does not seem motivated to fulfill his task at first, but the reason is unclear. He seems convinced when he is paid rudely, but later he throws his hat at it again. The structure of the film is also not well chosen. The recruiting and training of the team takes up the vast majority, the threat from Concussion does not become concrete anywhere. This makes the climax, which only takes place in the last fifteen minutes, completely superfluous and rushed. It would have been better if the creators had focused only on training the four superheroes. It is also a pity that the makers have clearly borrowed from other films. Not only ‘Star Wars’ is used as a source of inspiration, it also contains clear elements from ‘Spy Kids’, ‘X-Men’, ‘Sky High’ and even literally from ‘Toy Story’. He seems convinced when he is paid rudely, but later he throws the hat again. The structure of the film is also not well chosen. The recruiting and training of the team takes up the vast majority, the threat of Concussion does not become concrete anywhere. As a result, the climax, which only takes place in the last fifteen minutes, is completely superfluous and rushed. It would have been better if the creators had focused only on training the four superheroes. It is also a pity that the makers have clearly borrowed from other films. Not only ‘Star Wars’ is used as a source of inspiration, it also contains clear elements from ‘Spy Kids’, ‘X-Men’, ‘Sky High’ and even literally from ‘Toy Story’. He seems convinced when he is paid rudely, but later he throws the hat again. The structure of the film is also not well chosen. The recruiting and training of the team takes up the vast majority, the threat of Concussion does not become concrete anywhere. As a result, the climax, which only takes place in the last fifteen minutes, is completely superfluous and rushed. It would have been better if the creators had focused only on training the four superheroes. It is also a pity that the makers have clearly borrowed from other films. Not only ‘Star Wars’ is used as a source of inspiration, it also contains clear elements from ‘Spy Kids’, ‘X-Men’, ‘Sky High’ and even literally from ‘Toy Story’. The recruiting and training of the team takes up the vast majority, the threat of Concussion does not become concrete anywhere. As a result, the climax, which only takes place in the last fifteen minutes, is completely superfluous and rushed. It would have been better if the creators had focused only on training the four superheroes. It is also a pity that the makers have clearly borrowed from other films. Not only ‘Star Wars’ is used as a source of inspiration, it also contains clear elements from ‘Spy Kids’, ‘X-Men’, ‘Sky High’ and even literally from ‘Toy Story’. The recruiting and training of the team takes up the vast majority, the threat of Concussion does not become concrete anywhere. As a result, the climax, which only takes place in the last fifteen minutes, is completely superfluous and rushed. It would have been better if the creators had focused only on training the four superheroes. It is also a pity that the makers have clearly borrowed from other films. Not only ‘Star Wars’ is used as a source of inspiration, it also contains clear elements from ‘Spy Kids’, ‘X-Men’, ‘Sky High’ and even literally from ‘Toy Story’. It would have been better if the creators had focused only on training the four superheroes. It is also unfortunate that the makers clearly borrowed from other films. Not only ‘Star Wars’ is used as a source of inspiration, it also contains clear elements from ‘Spy Kids’, ‘X-Men’, ‘Sky High’ and even literally from ‘Toy Story’. It would have been better if the creators had focused only on training the four superheroes. It is also a pity that the makers have clearly borrowed from other films. Not only ‘Star Wars’ is used as a source of inspiration, it also contains clear elements from ‘Spy Kids’, ‘X-Men’, ‘Sky High’ and even literally from ‘Toy Story’.

However, the question is whether the target group, ‘Zoom’ is a children’s film, will be bothered by this. The older viewers have seen it all before, but the frame of reference of young film fans is not yet that great. The acting is quite okay here and there, even the performances of the children are okay. The production of the film also looks good, with great special effects and sets. However, it should not help the adult viewer. ‘Zoom’ has become a messy end product that could have benefited a lot from a more elaborated script.

[imdb]tt0383060[/imdb]