Gil Kenan's first live action direction is not terrible, and I would like to see him work with more solid material, like he did with his animated debut Monster House. The problem here lies squarely on the screenplay by Caroline Thompson. It is undeveloped and moves just a bit too fast.
To its credit, I really enjoyed the opening setup with the voice over and explanation of the box. I also enjoyed the closing moments, that was not quite what I expected, and I liked the overtones of hope over what could have been a very bleak close.
One last thing. I know this based on a book, one which I have not read. I am fairly certain that more information is in the book and may very well be quite good, but saying that I need to read the book to understand the movie is not a valid argument, the movie needs to be able to stand on its own.
Bottom line. I wanted to like the movie, but it left way too many questions behind to truly enjoy. It is not terrible by any stretch, and I am sure the kids will enjoy the fast paced adventure, I just couldn't.
Not Recommended.
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