75
Metascore
16 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertA wild elaboration. If you have never seen a Japanese anime, start here. If you love them, Metropolis proves you are right.
- 89Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovBy the time the explosive finale arrives (with a wistful Ray Charles crooning over shots of cataclysmic destruction, no less), you'll be hard pressed to name a recent film with this much action, pathos, and smarts.
- 88Boston GlobeBoston GlobePoetic, surreal, and curiously powerful.
- 88The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyMay not have the most sophisticated narrative, but it is one of the most spectacular and masterly demonstrations of animation in screen history.
- 80Film ThreatRon WellsFilm ThreatRon WellsThey should have produced this in 3D for IMAX as Metropolis is the kind of work destined to blow the minds of stoners everywhere.
- 80L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyThis muscular anime melodrama is so visually splendid that on that level alone it qualifies as a breakthrough.
- Technologically, the film is impressive, and it readily overwhelms the senses with frenetic computer-generated activity, an apocalyptic grand finale, and a bombastic jazz score. But unlike its classic predecessor, it doesn't leave much in its wake but ringing ears and unanswered questions.
- 60The New York TimesDana StevensThe New York TimesDana StevensA hallucinatory tour de force of color, perspective and scale, virtually encapsulates the history of Japanese animation.
- 60TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghThe look is utterly faithful to Tezuka's aesthetic -- he loved classic Disney animation, especially "Bambi" (1942) -- but it's hard to empathize with the angst of a character who looks like a Super Mario Brother.
- 50New York PostNew York PostThe dialogue is dubbed into English by generic actors, whose phony, emotionless rendition undermines what's on the screen.