Variety

Craft connoisseurs won't be disappointed with the splendidly executed result. However, everyone else is likely to wonder what the fuss about given the plot's dated cyborgs-and-supercomputers hijinks.

The Hollywood Reporter

The film has enough originality to interest demanding fans of the genre.

Chicago Reader by J.R. Jones

The stock characters and leaden stretches of expository dialogue are welcome evidence that there's still no computer program capable of telling a decent story.

The New York Times by Dana Stevens

While there are some genuinely dazzling moments of visual bravura, the marriage of flatness and depth that Mr. Aramaki attempts doesn't quite work.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Carrie Rickey

The characters are (hand-painted) so flat that the film looks like a paper-doll convention at Epcot.

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

At this point, there's something almost masochistic about the way animators in Japan use cheesy ''Westernized'' heroes to fuel their fantasies.

Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

Dazzling visually but is flattened by corny dialogue better suited to the 1936 "Flash Gordon" serial, a needlessly hard to follow plot and heavy-handed exposition clotted with pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo.

L.A. Weekly by David Chute

The film's snazzy new automated animation style falls short: The supposedly human face of our metal-plated robocop's partner -- the inevitable curvy female in a leather jump suit -- is an inexpressive, glossy doll mask, untouched by human hands.

Village Voice by J. Hoberman

Much of the movie is dull, and as it has been dubbed into English, the blah-blah is impossible to ignore.

The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson

Its busy, stiff, artificial graphics are a perfect match for its busy, stiff, artificial plot. A simple Shirow pinup parade might almost be preferable.