As they wait for their father (Tim Robbins) to return from an unexpected trip to the office, two boys, pre-teen Walter (Josh Hutcherson) and his younger brother Danny (Jonah Bobo), discover a mysterious board game hidden behind the dusty cobwebs of the dingy basement. It promises an outer space adventure like no other, and the old-school board game proves to be a low-tech diversion from the fallout of a high-tension afternoon. But with each game card spitting mysterious out of the game, it becomes quickly clear this isn’t normal, each instruction coming to startling reality hurtling the duo, their selfish teenage sister Lisa (Kristen Stewart) and their entire suburban home onto an quest that’s literally out of this world.

Based on the popular boo by Chris Van Allsburg, “Zathura” is a family feature sprung from the same mind that brought the world “Jumanji.” Somehow, that particular book became a wildly successful movie from director Joe Johnston and starring ubiquitous chameleon Robin Williams. Frenetic, chaotic and more obsessed with gonzo special effects than with telling a cohesive story, this 1995 smash was an example of everything that is wrong about Hollywood. It was the kind of movie where I wanted to gouge my eyes out, and why anyone would ever want to make a sequel is light years beyond me.

Thankfully, “Zathura” is generations beyond “Jumanji.” This low-rent continuation may not boast the star power of its predecessor, but what it lacks there it more than makes up for in intelligence, subtlety and pure entertainment value. “Elf” director Jon Favreau turns down the manic insanity and turns up the character development. He allows his two stars Bobo and Hutcherson to shine believably as two young brothers who argue and fight and spar and laugh and cry and – most of all – love one another like they were real siblings thrust into circumstances beyond their control.

Not that this should be construed as a full-blown recommendation. As nice as many of the moments are, early scenes of the two boys evading meteors or stepping out onto their porch into a galactic starscape are priceless, and as much as I liked the two boys, this whole thing is still exceedingly thin and shockingly juvenile. Which is shame, really, because for a while there I was starting to think writers David Koepp (“Jurassic Park”) and John Kamps (“The Borrowers”) had managed to script a family film worth celebrating. But it doesn’t last, and the closer “Zathura” gets to its saccharine and cartoonish conclusion the closer I got to wanting to escape to someplace else other than my theater seat.

That I remained is a testament to the superb restraint Favreau uses to bring all this to life. I may have hated “Elf” with a passion, but I was still impressed with some of the director’s sensibilities behind the camera. The North Pole sequences, in particular, showed an original quirkiness that was both beguiling and invigorating and those very some traits are on blissful display here. Unlike the original, the movie’s steady stream of special effects doesn’t overwhelm the action, aren’t so omnipresent and in-your-face they start to annoy. Instead, Favreau weaves his digital canvas delicately, every effect and artifice brought to the forefront only if and when the story calls for it.

The problem is, as well as Koepp and Kamps flesh out the two boys they completely forget about the rest of the characters. Lisa is a shrill afterthought thankfully kept frozen in cryogenic freeze for almost two thirds of the picture, while Robbins’ dad is so one dimensional the actor could have used a cardboard cutout of himself and no one would have noticed any difference. Worst of all is actor Dax Shepard as a stranded astronaut called by the game to assist the players. In all honesty, I couldn’t tell if it was because Shepard is terrible in the role (he is) or because the writers never gave him anything of interest to play (they don’t), but either way when he finally evaporates back to wherever it was he came from I couldn’t help be relieved.

Still, unbelievably laughable ending (that truly makes no sense) aside kids are going to have a blast watching this. While “Zathura” certainly doesn’t blast off it definitely doesn’t crash and burn. I guess a person could think of it as a brief sojourn into the outer atmosphere, and after a spectacular taste of what lies beyond we’re forcefully thrust back into the cold reality of been there/done desperately leaving the viewer disappointingly wanting for more.

Film Rating: êê1/2  (out of 4)