Zoom

I rented this movie for my cousin, it was his pick and we watched it as soon as we got home, he loved it! I seriously was expecting this big travesty of a film with the way the users are talking about it on IMDb, but I have to honestly say that it wasn't THAT bad, come on, it's a kid's movie, what did you expect? Citizen Kane? For the kids it had a fun plot and cool visuals, yeah, the story was a little lame, but as adults we should know that this movie was not meant for us, so I am going to judge it on being a children's movie.

These kids all have super powers, but don't know how to use them effectively, so the program of Zoom is going to help them become super heroes with a man who was a former celebrity type of hero who is now a has-been. They enjoy being kids with each other and learn how to use their powers in the right ways and must destroy Conor, another former super hero who went bad. Together they all must learn to a team and also a family.

Like I said, for a kid's movie, it's cute and it really wasn't a BAD movie, I've seen worse, believe me! So don't use most of these comments as your judgment factor, see how the kids react and really judge for yourself, it's a fun little flick that I wouldn't watch again, but I think it will be a fun small classic somewhere down the road for the children.

5/10

My kids thought it was a great show. They ran around for the next week pretending to be really fast/invisible/strong.

I wasn't very impressed. As ever the effects were adequate, even the story was good. The character development was lacking and the acting was wooden.

The movie has a couple of guys who should be really funny; Tim Allen & Chevy Chase. They just weren't made use of in a funny way. Courtenay Cox was funnier and for her that's saying something.

The climax was anticlimactic but I think this links back to poor character development. We just didn't get to know the bad guy enough to really care about him.

The soundtrack having 5 smash mouth songs really fits the tone and overall quality of the movie.

First off, a tiny bit about me. 1) I took my daughters (13 & 10) to this movie. 2) I tend to enjoy children's movies and I love SciFi. 3) My wife & I mostly agreed about the quality of this movie. 4) I've never rated a movie before.

Although I agree with many points from the first posting, I do think this movie *had* promise. It seems to me that if all characters were developed properly, that the screenplay had been more carefully thought out, that the technical filming of the show had gone better (boom mic!), that there was cohesiveness to the whole story, and that the actual plot had been more fully developed that this movie could have been spectacular. I was even willing to accept the story line until the kids were mysteriously found dutifully waiting in their room when they were supposed to be hiding. After that, it went downhill quickly for me.

I would have liked to see more exemplary development of the kids' powers -- the kind of foreshadowing that is later revealed in how they save the day (ie. A scene of Summer controlling the paint balls would have helped me believe better her focused power use in the end). Why spend all that time watching Cindy throw ton-weights at a target? How did Dylan's ability with the apple help in the end? What did they do with Tucker to help him learn to control his bloating? How is "mind sight" related to invisibility? Don't even get me started on Ms. Cox character (which I thought she played well).

The pacing and development of the two predictable romances was fair, but why not let Summer have a little tirade with Dylan for knowing he had "seen" her dancing? Followed up with Dylan's peace offering of the necklace pendant -- drama & release -- make the relationship grow on us.

The human stories here have to do with the kids as outcasts in life. Let's develop that more than the two short bits about the girls and Jack finally relating to Dylan. Zoom needed to grow with each kid to show his own growth and bring out his determination to succeed.

Then again, succeed at what? I think Tim Allen does a great job with the "unknown" aspect of the plot. He has no motivation, he gives none. But without a believable reason to drive the plot of the kids' training, we get what we saw. Also, there's nothing socially "dangerous" about the threat of Concussion - it seems a personal vendetta or overblown fear that Larraby is concerned about -- hardly enough to make me feel for him or his cause, and, unfortunately, the movie.

Finally, let's chew on continuity and technical prowess. I was thinking I saw the boom 5 times (but let's not quibble). Aren't people paid to notice these things (the director, even) during production? Let's keep track of where the characters are and give them a reason to go/be somewhere else. Let's give the characters more reason, heck even a strategy, to want to make and close a vortex. Let's see Rip Torn say the line that we watch him ventriloquize {sic}.

Would I watch it again? Maybe just to watch Zoom stumble again, see Houdini throw another punch, or see Summer be radiant -- OK, Cindy's got the tough-cute factor that can be enjoyable in moderation (pull up a chair, whydontya).

The people who rated this movie 1-star should get their heads out of their posteriors.

Too many movie-goers these days seem to only see movies as either being the best thing ever or the worst thing ever. The only way a movie should get 10 stars is if it would be difficult to improve upon and the only way a movie should get 1 star is if it was absolutely ineptly made on every level, and I assure you this movie doesn't come close to that. Even solely rating on personal taste and ignoring the technical filmmaking and how successfully the movie achieves the filmmakers' apparent intent, this movie could hardly be in the worst 10% of movies for anyone's taste.

This movie fails in many respects, but it has some redeeming moments and taken as a movie for small kids, it's not bad. The humor and acting both fall flat or miss the mark about as often as they're on target, but that is a sign of mediocrity, not atrocity.

Unfortunately at this point most of the IMDb users seem to think that if they enjoyed a movie they should give it a 10 and if it wasn't all they hoped for they should give it a 1. For instance the Lord of the Rings movies were entertaining, but have no business being rated higher than Citizen Kane or any of the countless classics relegated to lower ranks here. Similarly. Zoom has no business being rated lower than a piece of garbage like I Accuse My Parents which wasn't even watchable when it was skewered on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Remember folks most movies are mediocre. That means a low rating, not the bottom rating. Furthermore, just because a movie is exciting or satisfying doesn't make it a 10. For example, one can love the original Star Wars movies and still realize they have occasional flaws in acting, direction, pacing, or script.

Is Zoom a great movie? Absolutely not. Will some children, some parents, and even some adults without children enjoy it? Yes. Will it go down in history for being remarkable in any way? Probably not.