53
Metascore
22 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanA marvelously designed piece of cartoon kinetics.
- 75St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsSt. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsIt'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.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe movie contains less of its interesting story and more action and battle scenes than I would have preferred.
- 70Chicago ReaderAndrea GronvallChicago ReaderAndrea GronvallThe 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.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenDerivative bits aside, the pint-sized Japanese icon takes flight in vibrant CG animation -- no 3D glasses required.
- 60VarietyVarietyAppropriately 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.
- 60Time OutTime OutWhat’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
- 50L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyCorny but goodhearted, the film tries hard not to annoy parents, with animation more fizzy than frantic and nerdy references.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovIt'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.
- 42The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonThe A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonOlder viewers are more likely to see a muddled film full of one-dimensional characters and insultingly strident politics.