Zoom (2006) User Reviews

Oh, for a kid's movie, you need to give it a break

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 5/10 · 27 February 2007]

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

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[jessidoo · 5/10 · 2 March 2020]

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

Learn how to watch and rate movies people (rated for balance only)

[Jimbo-72 · 4/10 · 24 February 2007]

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.

Someone lost the promise

[WyoFogg · 3/10 · 16 August 2006]

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).

It feels like "product"

[Wizard-8 · 8 August 2009]

I have seen a number of movies from Revolution Studios, and with almost all of them I have found them to be souless "product" - movies put together with ingredients that seemed to guarantee a big hit, but lacking soul. With movies like this (a box office flop, partly due to the fact it was not screened for critics, a sign audiences know usually means a stinker), it's no wonder that Revolution Studios closed its doors a year later.

What went wrong with this movie? The main reasons the movie is a stinker can be traced to the script. We have four youths on the team Allen is leading, and we learn next to nothing about them. They are pretty interchangeable. The rest of the characters are poorly written as well. The bad guy of the movie doesn't appear until the last 15 minutes of the movie, leaving no time to develop him.

This poor writing of the characters may explain the awful performances from the adult members of the cast. I agree with the Leonard Maltin movie guide that Allen seems to be phoning it in. He seems to have a contempt for what he is surrounded by, making his character very unlikable. As for Chevy Chase, he doesn't even TRY to be funny.

The movie tries to inject emotion by playing popular pop songs on the soundtrack, but it doesn't work. The sets and various indoor and outdoor locations are okay, I guess. But the CGI used is third-rate, giving the movie a cheap look when it occurs. Kids may not mind that. But will they like the rest of the movie? If I saw this as a kid, I probably wouldn't have liked it - the movie lacks spirited characters and a sense of wonder and excitement. There may be some (very) young kinds who might like this movie, but I don't think it will be a movie that they will want to watch again and again.

Peter Hewitt is an awful and lazy director!!!!

[ljarsonbeck-1 · 3/10 · 16 August 2006]

Remember how in the 70's you could tell the production value of a film by how often you saw the boom mike fall into view of the actors- well thanks to boom operator Darryl Purdy and the laziness of Peter "I apparently never watch the dailies" Hewitt, you can see the boom mike fall into view 3 separate times. That said allow me to point out that the cute little girl who acts as badly as her speech impediment can't save the film in the same way that the Brady Bunch would not have been popular with a the show devoted to Cindy Brady.

There was so much wasted possibility showing us the back ground of these characters the over use of montage and collage editing would not have been needed.

Also the film has three apparent villains in the film except none of them are bad and we never know why two of them are necessarily considered bad- but that's o.k. because the story was written by someone with ADD or perhaps short term memory loss as significant as the character in "Memento".The story has no continuity- Tim Allen hates the kids he plays with the kids he feels sorry for the kids no wait he doesn't understand why he's there to train the kids_ FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!! Nothing in this movie fit together- and in the end the super evil villain (whom we have waited 90 minutes to see) gets a scolding in the last 6 minutes of the movie and then it's over.

Didn't Peter Hewitt read the script before filming oh no wait this is the same guy that gave us "Bogus Journey"- you remember- the sequel that ended the Bill and Ted franchise. Not to mention the Garfield Movie.. a comic strip so revered for 30 years they made it into a Saturday morning cartoon but the movie that couldn't keep the audiences attention for 90 minutes (success based solely on a lack of other children films during its release and parents who grew up with Garfield the previous generation)...WHY DOES PETER HEWITT GET WORK, why?? Afterall,it is the directors responsibility for many things including having a working script and a vision before starting a project ( the exceptions being Andy Warhol who's audience base was too stoned to notice and Francis Ford Coppola with "Apocalypse Now" who had several million dollars to keep his dream afloat.

Peter Hewitt should be ashamed of himself for this crap.

Worst movie of 2006!

[SalamanderGirl · 1/10 · 15 August 2006]

Zoom will not only be remembered with such dogs as Ishtar, Howard the Duck and Gigli, but also as one of the most blatantly thieving movies of all time. The only way to stay awake while watching Zoom is to count how many scenes, characters and story ideas are stolen from other movies. From X-Men and Sky High to Spy Kids and Fantastic 4, on and on, this movie steals from everyone. And none of it works! The most interesting anomaly is that finally there's a movie with Chevy Chase where the material is worse than he is. (Sorry Chevy, but six or seven movies not withstanding, your career consists of mostly dogs.) But the problem with Zoom is not the actors, it's the script. At least Howard the Duck and Ishtar, garbage that they were, were fairly original. Zoom is recycled, regurgitated crap from uninspired filmmakers, and it's just another nail in the coffin that was once Hollywood.

Painful

[biseel · 1/10 · 24 August 2006]

It was nothing short of painful.

I took an 11 year old to see this movie, and he was actually sore at me for suggesting the movie.

The way I see it Peter Hewitt owes me $20 for the movie tickets and 3 hours of my life back (1.5 hr for the movie, 1/2 hr for the drive, and 1 hr for all the time I spent bitching about how awful it really was)!

From the boom mic in the shots, to the five minute fight scene at the end, to the terrible acting by the team as a whole, to the total lack of understanding behind the conflict with Chevy Chase and Rip Torn and the team, to Tim Allen's lack of understood emotion, to Courtney Cox's most painful character to date - the movie was just plain awful.

What could possibly be the motivation for making a film like this?

[dmcdesgn · 1/10 · 13 August 2006]

It is conceivable that a movie about four misfit young people turned superheros could have been made into an enjoyable family film, but someone made a serious wrong turn early in the film-making process here. To make matters worse, rather than abandoning this sinking ship early on, or starting over at square one, the filmmakers appear to have blindly moved forward producing what can only be described as a disaster that will quickly find a home among the most poorly rated movies at IMDb and leave theaters quickly.

The biggest question I have is why? Why was this movie made? Why was no one minding the store? Why was this screenplay ever permitted to see the light of day? I took my five year-old to the movie because the previews looked okay and we love movies. The fact that it took less than five minutes for him to get fidgety after the movie started was probably a good clue to what was ahead. He never did calm down and I'm not sure he paid attention to more than ten minutes of the whole movie.

The script and sets are both beyond ridiculous and rarely make any sense at any time during the movie. Some of the acting is really over the top absurd, Rip Torn and Chevy Chase come to mind. With the exception of Courntey Cox, this film seems like it exists purely to provide a vehicle for over the hill actors to bring in a little up front income. However, since this movie will not turn a profit, it is the studio that will pay price in the end and I suppose they deserve it.

There are a few moments in the first 15 minutes of the movie where you have a hope that something good will happen in the movie, but we quickly discover that the purposes behind bringing this group of kids together are entirely unsound and unexplainable and the rest of the movie has been constructed around random events placed in the film for no apparent reason other than to fill the obligatory 90 minutes minimum required for all non-animated movies.

Besides all of the rest of what makes this movie rotten, the worst thing of all is that there never turns out to be any plausible reason to have brought these four kids together in the first place to make them superheros.

By the time we arrived at the end of the movie, I cared so little about what happened to any of the characters, that I was just bouncing around in my seat, looking over at my wife and child and praying it would end any moment.

There are real reasons that this movie is nearly universally hated by professional critics and movie-goers alike and that is that this movie is entirely unoriginal, incoherent and borders on being unwatchable.

IMDb voters get it wrong on this one

[floyd-52 · 7/10 · 3 March 2007]

This is a solid KID movie. Our family of five (kids aged 9 to 13) watched the whole thing, no one left or wanted to. My wife kept saying how it was a good movie. I liked it and watched -- much more than I can say for Barnyard.

This movie featured Smash Mouth and they did a lot of songs, some their own and some covers. This made the music much better than average.

Tim Allen is a very watchable likable guy and here he is no exception.

The CGI was above average, making the movie an X-Men for kids. It is also a bit like Spy Kids, only better in my eyes.

Courtney Cox was very game, the kids (and The Kid) were just fine but personally, I thought Rip Torn's take on his part was goofy -- but I don't think this will hurt his rating by those aged 12 or under.

Frankly I am totally mystified by this film's rating (2.2 as of this writing). All I can think of is Hollywood is afraid on someone in this movie becoming a threat to the elite and wants to sink them (like they did with Costener in Waterworld).

Saving the world has never been such a chore

[Jay_Exiomo · 2/10 · 27 September 2006]

"Zoom" is a kids' superhero flick based on the novel "Zoom's Academy" written by Jason Lethcoe. In it, Tim Allen stars as a has-been superhero who's tasked to train four young superheroes to battle a nemesis. With that, you pretty much know what to expect. Unfortunately, that's all. While the film has all what comprises a prototype of this milked-dry genre, the experience is overtly familiar and dull.

Jack Shephard (Allen... nope, not Matthew Fox) was Captain Zoom, a superhero who can travel at superhuman speeds, and one of the members of the military-sponsored superhero group "Team Zenith." But he has since lost his powers after a military experiment has gone awry that also has his teammates killed. 30 years later Jack is brought back to train four youngsters with superpowers when a new malevolent threat from the past emerges.

First of all, the script of Adam Rifkin and David Berenbaum doesn't attain new heights with their blunt dealing of a theme that's been done more excellently with "The Incredibles" and "Sky High." And director Peter Hewitt ("Garfield"), who clearly isn't exactly a master storyteller himself, has little to work from with such a dull and hollow material. All of the characters are perfunctory parts rather than humans portraying genuine conflicts.

Also, for a film that's called "Zoom," the film drags: it lacks a sufficient amount of action. We're supposed to see the kids train, but all we're mostly shown are unfunny attempts at slapstick humor that the filmmakers assume would elicit laughters from the little tots among the audience (uhm, Courteney Cox tripping down and Chevy Chase getting slime on his face, anyone?). What constitutes for training involve at the most paint balls and a drive-thru chaos at a Wendy's restaurant. Yes, there's the climactic fight sequence at the end but it's too quick, unexciting, and not enough by a mile for a film that has terribly dragged along.

Ultimately, what transpires is a terribly unfunny movie that wears out its welcome faster than its main character runs.

Classic slapstick Allen and Chase

[DocVW · 8/10 · 15 February 2007]

I actually watched this movie before I read any of the reviews or comments on this site which is rare for me; I tend to value the reviews and rankings of the other members. This is the first time I am left scratching my head wondering what exact movie did you people watch to give it such low reviews??!! This movie is what it is and a very good job of it. It is a movie that makes fun of super hero movies. Take a bitter misfit ex-superhero who can't be any less interested in training new recruits and make it funny. Zoom has his reasons to be bitter and they are CLEARLY explained, if people don't get the plot, they weren't really paying attention. The acting in this movie is very good by a well collected cast. Allen and Chase deliver slapstick one liners throughout the whole movie that are truly reminiscent of their comedic classic styles. If the one liner isn't enough to make you laugh, add the highly adorable factor from Ryan Newman as Cindy Collins is tops. The rest of the cast works very well together and even though there is a lot of predictability in the movie, it is still very funny and worth the watch. This is not a literary classic brought to life, so don't expect it to be. The negative comments about Allen are unjust, as his character wasn't' that far off from his style in the Santa Clause movies. This movie was enjoyable and I laughed out loud many times and I don't do that often with movies because they just aren't as funny in the same style. If you want to just relax and laugh at a silly movie, the Zoom on over to your video store and pick this one up.

My kids loved it, I wasn't very impressed

[lanceandlaura · 6/10 · 21 August 2006]

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.

Even my 8-year-old was bored.

[rgmax99 · 1/10 · 12 August 2006]

Zoom is dreck.

Granted, it's a kids flick. But the classic kids flicks endure because of quality. There is no quality of any sort in this junk. Of course, when you go to a movie these days and see "Revolution Studios" before the credits, you know you're going to end up with brain-numbing rot. (The biggest mistake Sony Pictures ever made was funding Revolution. The best move Sony Pictures ever made was closing the Revolution doors -- so to speak.) Oh...and you know you're in real trouble when this appears in the opening credits: Songs by Smashmouth.

Tim Allen, Courtney Cox, Chevy Chase, and poor Rip Torn...ugh. What in the world were they thinking? I know the first three aren't A-listers, but a seeing genuine talent like Torn wasted in slop such as this is depressing. "Forty Shades of Blue" one minute, "Zoom" the next. Oh well, it pays the bills, I suppose.

And my, how Chase has fallen. Every now and then, a spark of his former talented self glimmers through, but mostly he's stuck doing embarrassing schtick. (One scene where his character is stuck in an "outdoor simulator" is just awful. He mugs and dances around like a second rate Rip Taylor...without the feminine traits, obviously.)

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM "Galaxy Quest" part 2, Allen proves yet again that it's for the money

[Doctor_No · 2/10 · 15 August 2006]

An odd group of super hero misfits must be shaped up by a dimwitted leader Zoom (Money whore Tim Allen). Some of the child actors are okay but their powers and the whole back story is foggy. Despite they need to be trained at the Academy there was, for me, no good reason to care. Allen after doing "Shaggy Dog" (another runner up for worst of 06) shows that despite the god awful taste in film selections he is just doing it for the MONEY. So the next Allen flick that comes out don't expect some kind of descent film just expect Tim laughing it up on screen pulling ridiculous stunts like "Zoom". Despite the kids, probably who this mess was made for it is regrettable, despicable and down right dimwitted. *1/2

Dumber Than a Speeding Bullet.

[dunmore_ego · 3/10 · 13 October 2009]

This movie made me weep with emotion. I had no idea a movie could be THIS FREAKIN' BAD.

Oh, of course - Chevy Chase is in it. 'Nuff said.

Tim Allen is retired superhero Zoom (think: The Flash as a doughy guy), called back into service by the secret government agency (aren't they all?) that created him - not for his super services but as a consultant, to train a new generation of kid heroes.

Courteney Cox is the bespectacled hot chick scientist who is supposedly dorky and not hot because of the spectacles. Chevy Chase is head of the secret government superhero project and doing as inept a job as we would expect him to be doing. That's not a gag when we're referring to his non-existent comedic timing as well.

There is a scene where Zoom tells a kid how he has long stopped using his super speed, by vibrating his finger like a, well, a vibrator, and saying, "There was a time when I could make my whole body do that!" Courteney Cox just gushed in her lab coat.

Zoom's brother, a guy who was originally a part of the super team and went rogue, is on his way back from some other dimension to, we surmise, do Bad Things. And Zoom's new uncooperative team of spoiled brats must be whipped into shape in time to stop him. Zoom rediscovers his superspeed in the process and there is much Disney rejoicing that makes us embarrassed to be alive.

Appeals to the teen-and-below market who don't realize this story of self-realization has been told a million times, a billion times better.

Cry Chevy and let slip the dogs of bore.

--Review by Poffy The Cucumber (for Poffy's Movie Mania).

Seriously?

[fortey · 1/10 · 29 August 2007]

The one thing that stuck with me long after watching this movie was the realization that my first impression of Chevy Chase was wrong. When he first appears on screen I was positive he was covered in make up. But as time wore on it became clear that's actually what his head looks like these days. Good Lord...

The current state of Chevy Chase's head is actually the most interesting aspect of this movie. The rest of the movie is celluloid child abuse and by that I mean you really need to rethink your parenting skills if you willingly subject your kids to this. It indicates you hate them and punish them severely or you have a desire to warp their minds with absolute crap.

Children's movies have a lot of apologists out there. People who will toss out "it's a kid's movie, what were you expecting?" or some equally weak line that makes it seem like stories should treat kids like complete idiots and be poorly structure from the beginning, because what do kids know? They're probably stupid enough to buy it.

Maybe I was an overly sarcastic child, but I know I would have ripped this movie a new one back in the day, too. It's garbage heaped on garbage.

Why does Courtney Cox have pratfalls? Just because Laurel and Hardy haven't done a lot of work lately, there's no need for Courtney Cox to steal their shtick. Nor is there need for her to deliver some of the worst lines in filmed history, but whatever. The writer of this film is a demon that needs to be exorcised by a force far greater than me.

What abominably forgetful and unobservant, near-sighted beast edited this thing? Never have I seen such heinous editing in all my life. Montage after montage is tossed at you and in no way do the events portrayed therein reflect the story that exists when the montage stops. It makes no sense at all. You have Tim Allen, just as talentless and unfunny as ever, being crabby and pathetic as the would-be teacher to these kids, then a montage starts and everyone looks like they're having the time of their life, then the montage ends and someone whines about how Tim Allen still isn't doing his job and the kids need him and blah blah. All until the next montage starts when everything seems happy again.

But wait, there's more. Smash Mouth? Are you joking? Who thought, in 2006, that a band no one has cared about in 5 years would be good for a soundtrack? A band that has to accompany every single one of the numerous, pointless montages. And to keep things consistent, all the rest of the songs in the movie are also outdated. But...why? Did they get a deal on a NOW CD or something? Why did they cast a kid who isn't fat as a fat kid and then stuff a pillow down his shirt? Why can I see the boom mic? Didn't anyone at all care about how this movie looked? Why do casting directors always look to Tim Allen when they have a horribly unfunny children's movie to make? I get that he's not funny so it stays in the theme but I can't help but think maybe they didn't intentionally set out to make the movie unfunny.

When Rip Torn says "I speak Greek not Geek" I could almost see all the 4 year olds around the world rolling their eyes as one.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest the entire end of this movie was improv. It's the only explanation I can think of for why it's so terrible. The entire awful, nonsensical movie builds up to this ending with this super villain whose powers are inexplicably nullified by Tim Allen in an absolutely idiotic body stocking and helmet running around him really fast. Then everything is cool again.

In a nutshell, this is a perfect movie if you want to punish your children for some nameless crime, or if you're just an unloving kind of person. For any other reason, I can't imagine anyone needs to watch this. Ever.

Needed to be about the kids

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 24 July 2014]

Jack Shepard (Tim Allen) is disillusioned bitter former super-speed superhero and sole survivor Captain Zoom of Team Zenith. Dr. Grant (Chevy Chase) exposed the team to Gamma-13 which turned older brother Connor/Concussion to the dark side 30 years ago destroying the team. Now General Larraby (Rip Torn) in Area 52 and Grant bring back Jack with the help of psychologist Marsha Holloway (Courteney Cox) to train a new group of kids. Dylan West (Michael Cassidy) is a teen with invisibility and clairvoyance. Summer Jones (Kate Mara) has telekinetic powers and empathic senses. Tucker Williams (Spencer Breslin) can blow up parts of his body. Little Cindy Collins (Ryan Newman) has super strength.

Tim Allen is too bitter and sarcastic. Chevy Chase is silly without being funny. He's just a pathetic shadow of his former self. The adults are the problem of this movie. This needs to be about the kids. The little girl is actually quite funny. The kids need more screen time to develop. This is simply a badly thought out comic book movie.

What can I say, it sucked!

[jonjonat · 4/10 · 8 September 2007]

I seriously had a bad feeling when I hurried to get out of the video store that I had to do a wise pick on a kiddie like movie. I thought when I first rented this movie it would be pretty good and funny since Tim Allen was acting in it. But what can I say when I started watching it, it was to do with four kid super heroes and their leader Zoom from a comic book came to life in such a crude humoured film! I mean I need to say they introduced the characters like the four kids which was a little six year old girl who could lift up to ten pounds of weight, a fat chubby boy who can make his body go even fatter and bigger and can squash anyone in his way, a teenage girl who has the power to stare and control any like object or thing with her eyes and a boy who could turn invisible and use his mind to see things from a far distance. The only thing I liked about this movie was just about the end of the film, where there was quite a impressive battle with Jack's evil brother Conner and he finally showed off his zooming power to plan on making his brother part of his family again. But trust me I'll warn any viewer if you really want to see this movie you likely only need to see it once or even half of it since it's like the worst movie ever created in the history of the universe! Period!

The very young and somewhat older movie fans should get a kick out of this flick

[SimonJack · 6/10 · 18 January 2022]

"Zoom" is a fun movie for two audiences. It's a comedy sci-fi flick that was made for kids, with a far-out allusion to the super-heroes group from the age of comic books. The humor appeals a little bit to we older movie buffs. But of more interest and entertainment for the older movie crowd are the two characters, Dr. Grant and General Laraby.

Chevy Chase is a hoot as the government scientist, Dr. Grant, and Rip Torn is very funny in his frequent role as a cantankerous commander of some sort from films of the past. Tim Allen and the younger cast who play the super heroes are okay and should amuse the younger of the young crowd who follow the superheroes. Of course, once they reach about eight years of age, the kids are no longer dazzled by these more comical, kid-friendly characters. They're ready for the tougher, rougher, more daring super hero flicks. They want the "real thing" like the adults. You know, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Wolverine and Captain America.

My grandkids, the youngest ones anyway, get a kick out of flicks like this.

Don't watch this.

[LordCodicus · 2/10 · 5 August 2007]

Kids movies are declining in quality over the years, "excluding Pixar and maybe Dreamworks" and this rings ever so true in Zoom: Academy for Superheroes.

Searching the IMDb user reviews about this movie i was shocked to see such quotes as 'Great Movie' or 'Best Kids Movie EVER!' or even a worrying 'Best Film of 2006'.

If you have gone to see the movie without a child by your side, then you will be horribly disappointed by what this movie has to offer.

Key points such as the 'revival' of Chevy Chase and others are put down early in the film when you find that they are hamming through the worst dialog ever, eg. "I speak Greek, not Geek" etc. etc, Enough to make kids the world over roll their eyes knowingly.The fact that it has a short cinema life probably contributed to the overall quality of life.

Has your child had an IQ test? If so, children above the 110 mark will have trouble being entertained by the lousy performances of the actors. We all know Tim Allen's been a bit off lately, but this takes the cake.

So, others may say that the acting was 'forgivable' and that critic's harsh reviews were only so because they were taking the movie seriously. Hmm. I think those that were prepared to give the movie a 'Perfect' 10 stars have an insanely different viewpoint to life. Any score under six would be a rational average for mentally stable people. Should come with label saying -do not buy-.

Summing up Zoom: -Bad acting and bland story, kids may like it if not put off, but you'll be snoozing in your seat.

Not bad for a KIDS movie - which is what it was meant to be

[seriousshmerious · 9/10 · 30 September 2006]

This movie was not that bad. My kids loved it and so did all the other kids in the theater. So what if it is a formula movie...it is for children. There is a lot of family moments in this movie. It is geared toward teamwork and thinking about others instead of yourself all the time. It has slapstick humor and some gross adolescent type jokes, but clean language and the kids seem to stand up for each other, which is nice. The little girl does have anger management issues. This is no Academy award winner, but a decent movie for preteen kids. I would say most kids under 13 will like this movie. It's nice not to have to worry about language even if there are some gross special effects... What else is Tim Allen suppose to be in...I don't see Hollywood knocking down his door for serious movies. He's a comedian turned actor and is good for kids movies. I like seeing Courtney Cox in it as well. Maybe she will well in the area of family movies. Better than all that junk Jennifer Aniston is killing us with. Over all I didn't mind this movie which is more than what I could say for some of the other kid movies I've seen and would recommend it to others.

A pleasant way to spend 90 minutes

[raz00710 · 6/10 · 12 August 2006]

A very pleasant children's movie, with roots from power rangers. This movie would have been miserable had it not been for the comedic talents of Tim Allen and Chevy Chase. But the two of them managed to pull a rating of six out of me with almost non-stop laughs. The action in this movie leaves something to be desired however. Go see it for the comedy, not the action. I will not give away the ending, but I will tell you that it is probably safe for you to walk out of the theater at about the 75m minute mark. After that the movie becomes even more predictable than it already was, and that is really not good. But once again the laughs save this movie from dismal failure.

Wow, this is terrible in every aspect!

[TheEmulator23 · 2/10 · 28 July 2007]

I would rather watch just about anything than have to see this absolutely clichéd-wanna-be-superhero flick. It is terrible and pointless as can be. It really is ashame that the adorable (And upcoming star I might add) Kate Mara having to be in this piece of garbage. It is even more sad seeing the once great Chevy Chase in a 8th supporting role and being over-shadowed by... well everything! I don't recommend this to anyone, unless you get it free and want to laugh at all the stupidity involved in it. Maybe it will go down as one of those movies you laugh at because it is so dumb later down the line, but I doubt that happening. I'm actually surprised this isn't even rated lower than what it is rated now. It really makes you wonder how kind of talented people like Tim Allen, Courtney Cox, and the already mentioned (and Lovely I might add) Kate Mara. Here's hoping that this is one of those flicks that gets forgotten. I also hope that it isn't held against any of the kids who were in it either. It gets the rating it gets because the production values are passable, and Courtney Cox still looks great.

Overused Disney superhero formula killed off by bland ZOOM.

[vip_ebriega · 2/10 · 2 August 2008]

My Take: A positively dull family comedy with one pathetic excuse for comedy after another.

Not tired by the success of THE INCREDIBLES and SKY HIGH, Disney reuses the tired "average-ordinary everyday superheroes" formula once more, this time one time too many. Finally overusing it to the death, Disney's ZOOM is bland, unfunny and totally juvenile excuse for family entertainment which may find audiences in the younger set, but will totally annoy anyone above the age line of ages 1-6. While the presence of Tim Allen and his sarcastic bite of humor lightens things up, the product itself is light enough with a completely empty script, free from any funny or original ideas. It... was just pathetic.

Allen plays a retired superhero who is recalled by his associates, a clumsy scientist played by a wasted Chevy Chase, to train a couple of newbie superheroes, including ones that disappears in thin air (Dylan West, played by Michael Cassidy), who can control objects at will (Summer Jones, played by Kate Mara), who can inflate himself to the size of hot-air balloon (Tucker Williams, played by Spencer Breslin) and a little girl with the strength of The Hulk (Cindy Collins, played by Ryan Newman), and you won't like her when she's angry too (as a matter of fact, I didn't like her... at all). First of all, he has to cope with their irregularities and life problems to training them with the use of their powers. But that hardly passes as a screenplay, as the movie not doesn't have any big laughs, but the story and characters are as empty as the entire exhausted enterprise. Allen can do funny, but he's as tired as anyone else in this fabricated mess.

If their not tired, their embarrassing, which is twice as worse. Need I mention Courtney Cox in such an embarrassing performance? Need I mention Chevy Chase in a waste role that can be played by anyone... even your grandpa? Or what about that annoying little girl, whom the writers call "cute". How does any money-hungry exec at work in this claptrap expect the audience to buy into some theatrical film that would run fine in local cable for cheaper effect. Director Pete Hewitt (director of the similarly dull GARFIELD) seems more suited to local cable, as his project just yells out "made for TV" all over. The special effects are not at aplenty, but still awful in every sense. The acting is extremely feeble, but who could blame 'em? The script isn't exactly working class material! On top of it all, it all comes down to the energy. There's no energy, no fun at all to be had in ZOOM, at least not to any older audience. Kids, as usual, will find ZOOM quite a treat. Adults will be forced to find a liking for counting grain when forced to watch this. Don't take the risk!

Rating: * out of 5.