75
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The movie contains less of its interesting story and more action and battle scenes than I would have preferred.
Astro Boy
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Hong Kong,
- United States,
- Japan
- 2009
- · 94m
Director
David Bowers
Cast
Nicolas Cage,
Madeline Carroll,
Freddie Highmore,
Kristen Bell,
Donald Sutherland,
Bill Nighy
Genre
Action,
Animation,
Family,
Science Fiction
In the future, a scientist in Metro City, a city orbiting Earth, creates a robot called Astro Boy based on his dead son. However, when the scientist rejects him, Astro Boy must learn to survive on his own on Earth until he can rise back up to fight the evil conspiracy that threatens Metro City.
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What are critics saying?
75
St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Joe Williams
It's zippy, and the movie version has both a computerized sheen and handcrafted detailing. Because the details are cribbed from classics, parents can enjoy this 'toon as much as their kids.
75
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
A marvelously designed piece of cartoon kinetics.
75
New York Post by Billy Heller
A sweet and endearing movie. Attention, kids: It's also packed with action!
70
Chicago Reader by Andrea Gronvall
The lighting, production design, and character modeling are excellent, and director David Bowers (Flushed Away) references "Frankenstein," "Wall-E," "Transformers," and even Abraham and Isaac. But the TV series, primitive though it was, had a sweet innocence and joyfulness that made it more fun.
67
Portland Oregonian by Marc Mohan
In addition to the slick but generic computer animation, it's also got an A-list voice cast: Nicolas Cage as Dr. Tenma, the grieving inventor, and Donald Sutherland as a scheming politician.
63
Boston Globe by Ty Burr
Astro Boy alternately soars and sputters through a story line that’s not quite sure who it’s aimed at.
60
Time Out
What’s ultimately more impressive than the vigorous madcap action and innocuous humor, however, is Bowers’s willingness to address adult themes--alienation, regret, class tensions--with a directness that shows a surprising respect for his target young-adult audience
60
Variety
Appropriately for a film about robots, efficiency is the primary virtue of Astro Boy, a well-oiled CG-animated superhero pic that makes up in competence and vitality what it lacks in originality.
60
The Hollywood Reporter by Michael Rechtshaffen
Derivative bits aside, the pint-sized Japanese icon takes flight in vibrant CG animation -- no 3D glasses required.
60
Time Out by Nick Schager
What’s ultimately more impressive than the vigorous madcap action and innocuous humor, however, is Bowers’s willingness to address adult themes--alienation, regret, class tensions--with a directness that shows a surprising respect for his target young-adult audience
60
Variety by Andrew Barker
Appropriately for a film about robots, efficiency is the primary virtue of Astro Boy, a well-oiled CG-animated superhero pic that makes up in competence and vitality what it lacks in originality.
50
Austin Chronicle by Marc Savlov
It's a totally serviceable reboot for young people who are just discovering the joys of manga, but I can't help but miss the raw animation and even rawer emotional aesthetics of Tezuka's original televised animé series.
50
L.A. Weekly
Corny but goodhearted, the film tries hard not to annoy parents, with animation more fizzy than frantic and nerdy references.
42
The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson
Older viewers are more likely to see a muddled film full of one-dimensional characters and insultingly strident politics.
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