I never expected to see some high-art film when I saw the trailer for the movie. It's Astro Boy, the kid fighting evil aliens or robots on Saturday mornings. I expect it to be just a movie about a young super kid fighting.. well.. robots and aliens.
So when I walked into the movie I was pleasantly surprised that there are more than fighting in the movie. I was touched in many places where the father (Dr. Tenma) and son (Toby/ Astro)'s bittersweet relationship is shown. The acting is GREAT! Both by the actors (Nicholas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, they're all great) and by the animators in Hong Kong.
There are also many funny moments, although not enough time was given to laugh at them. I wish the pacing was a bit slower at the start of the movie (but I read many people were bored at the start of the movie). Well.. the problem is that they need to zip in all the story about the beginning of Astroboy, in about 15-20 minutes time.
I love the little robots like Trash Can and the RRF. They are such relief makers in the movie. Most of the funny moments came from them.
I read reviews about certain political agendas etc, in the movie. But i disagree. Those statements are only made to support the story, and shouldn't be looked at with too much thought. Remember this is a kid's movie, and should be taken lightly as an entertainment source, don't think too much about it.
I don't really get why the box office for this movie is so bad. I mean, this is WAY BETTER THAN Bee Movie, or Space Chimps, or Open Season 2... SERIOUSLY. It deserves better.
I went to see this movie on a Saturday and there were a lot of parents with kids in the cinema. When the movie finished the kids were happy and thrilled and said "That was awesome!" Take your kids to this movie. They'll love it.
