- Title: Zoom
- IMDb: link
Throwback Tuesday takes us back to the box office and critical failure of 2006’s super-hero comedy Zoom. The film stars Tim Allen as a former teen super-hero brought back to the secret government program 30 years later to help train a new generation of heroes (Michael Cassidy, Kate Mara, Spencer Breslin, and Ryan Whitney). As with most of these team hero tales, about half of the powers turn out to be useful while the rest are used mainly for comic relief (although rarely for big laughs).
The supporting cast is made up of over-the-top characters in charge of the program played by the likes of Courteney Cox, Chevy Chase, and Rip Torn. Unaware of the looming threat (which turns out to be his long lost brother, played by Kevin Zegers, driven insane by government testing), and resenting being drafted into service against his will, Allen is stuck is schmuck mode for the first-half of the film.
Zoom isn’t a good movie. Even by pre-MCU standards, Zoom isn’t even a good super-hero movie going for easy and cheap laughs at every turn while struggling to find ways to move the plot forward towards the big climactic battle. Throw in some inconsistent effects and lack of any real character development, and you can see quickly why the film tanked at the box office. Still, mainly due to Allen and Mara and the unusual concept of a six year-old being the strongest person on the planet, the film does have just enough to keep your interest as something of a family friendly guilty pleasure.
