Review of Astro Boy (2009) by Colby F — 01 Oct 2010

This Astro Boy is a little different than the Japanese icon, but fans of one will surely be fans of the other. Besides, I'll take as much Astro Boy as I can get!

Pros:

-Exciting and epic Action/Peril. This is my favorite aspect of the Astro Boy stories. They are just so darned awesome!

-Great animation. Crisp, colorful, and vibrant.

-Excellent music. This is John Ottman's best film score to date. It is thrilling and accents the movie well.

-Its Astro Boy. Which automatically makes it spectacular.

Cons:

-Not enough action/peril. I would have loved to see more, even if it meant pushing the film to a PG-13 rating.

-Too short. Its 94 minutes long. It needs to be at least 2 hours (120 min). After all, the more Astro Boy the better!

-Astro Boy is wearing clothing. Huh? This is not cool. In the Japanese tales of Astro Boy, Astro is wearing nothing but a dark speedo. This kind of irritates me. He's a robot, people...plus he's a boy. Boys can be seen in public without shirts. Take off those clothes.

-A hurried ending. Though it wraps up the story and even creates a feeling that Astro will always be a hero to the people of Metro City, it ends too quickly and much too soon after the end battle.

-Voice acting. Astro sounds great, as do other characters. But Nicholas Cage's voice work leaves much to be desired, and his voice doesn't even match the character. Plus Nathan Lane has too much of a distinct voice. Every time his character spoke I only saw the actual Nathan Lane in my head.

Overall: 9.5/10.

I want a sequel. It needs to be longer, edgier, better voice acting, bring back John Ottman for the music, and please...no clothing. Just a speedo please.