A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Zoom

Date Viewed: 8/27/06

Details:

Tim Allen

Courteney Cox

Chevy Chase

Rip Torn

Director: Peter Hewitt

Score: -

The Review: Pretty stupid.

Tim Allen has done amusing fantasy and science fiction (e.g., Santa Clause, and Galaxy Quest), some of it quite clever and satiric -- so it was with mixed expectations I decided to try out Zoom.

Alas, disappointment reigns in this runaway farse. Allen is an over-the-hill civilian trying to forget his superhero past, when some crisis from this secret & cryptic past returns to threaten the powers that be -- or at least threaten the US military industrial complex, portrayed as the generic villain that seems to be in some way responsible for the creation (or at least augmentation) of the original superheroes. But at what cost? (Hence the not-so-buried angst that permeates Allen's otherwise cynical demeanor -- hmmm..., both angst and cynicism, not a good combination here.) Allen (as the original Captain Zoom -- whence the title) is thus recruited as trainer and mentor for the next generation, who seem to be budding from the woodwork into the overly clear light of normal society. But such "freaks" need to be concealed, nurtured and turned into a defensive front -- or so saith Rip Torn, also over the top as the military brass in charge. Chevy Chase is slumming as the bumbling egocentric research scientist in some measure responsible for the original clutch.

Not wry enough, not imaginative enough, not funny enough, and certainly not entertaining enough. Don't waste your time.

(24-Sep-06)

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