Review of Astro Boy (2009) by Steven V — 08 Apr 2010

There are enough of the usual themes here in this 94 minute movie which makes it pretty accessible, such as life, death, destiny and the yearning for friendship and acceptance, of who you are, and for others to see beyond oneself with prejudiced notions, which for Astro Boy's case, the misconception of a robot without heart nor emotion.

Narratively, this movie was safely stuck in "safe" mode throughout, and there were some shades of other super-powered movies that can be seen here, such as an ending mimicking Pixar's The Incredibles.

Needless to say, in between the set action sequences, the movie sagged a little in the middle act as it tried its very best to humanize this robotic boy, and the introduction of a myriad of human children and robotic characters, in it to interact with our titular hero, with the latter inserted nothing more than for some cheap laughter, like requisite jesters.

But when the action scenes are very well made, engaging and entertaining, that all is forgiven when you see Astro Boy in full flight and fight, with the finale battle something of an adrenaline rush. The animators at Imagi Studios did a great job in delivering this movie to expectations, graphic wise.

An A-list voice cast also helped, with actors such as Nathan Lane, Eugene Levy, Bill Nighy, Samuel L. Jackson, Charlize Theron, Nicolas Cage and Kristen Bell all chipping in.