Set in the futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy (Atom) is a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he had lost. Unable to fulfill his creator's expectations, Astro embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators, before returning to save Metro City and reconcile with the father who rejected him.
David Bowers' retro-cool update on the titular icon looks so great, it may take a while to notice it's a clunky political parable wrapped in a tonally confused fairy tale.
– Elizabeth Weitzman,
New York Daily News,
23 Oct 2009
rotten:
I just felt like this was a mistranslation -- almost trying to combine the slightly sinister, cold world of Japanese anime with the warm, sentimental, fuzzy, bouncy world of Hollywood kid animation.
– A.O. Scott,
At the Movies,
26 Oct 2009
rotten:
Bowers's play-it-straight attitude towards the material combined with the crisp, if unspectacular, animation doesn't allow 'Astro Boy' a moment to bob its head above the ever-swelling digimation pack.
– David Jenkins,
Time Out,
5 Feb 2010
rotten:
The animation bar has been raised, and not just by Pixar. Poor little Astro Boy hasn't a prayer of clearing it.
– Roger Moore,
Orlando Sentinel,
6 Jul 2010
rotten:
Like its supersonic, jets-in-his-feet hero, the movie itself feels totally robotic.