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Martian Child
New Line Cinema


7.9

based on 26 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 21 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG for thematic elements and mild language

Starring John Cusack, Bobby Coleman, Amanda Peet, Sophie Okonedo, Joan Cusack, Oliver Platt, Richard Schiff, and David Kaye

A recently widowed science-fiction writer forms an unlikely family with a close friend and a young boy he adopts that claims to be from Mars. The new couple ignores some sage parenting advice from the widower's sister and gets more than they bargained for when a series of strange occurrences lead them to believe that the child's claim may be true. (New Line Cinema)

GENRE(S):	Comedy \| Drama
WRITTEN BY:	David Gerrold (novel) Jonathan Tolins Seth Bass
DIRECTED BY:	Menno Meyjes
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: February 12, 2008 Theatrical: November 2, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	108 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

USA Today Claudia Puig

An occasionally schmaltzy but likable story of healing and redemption.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

And in the end, maybe the question of Dennis' origin is irrelevant. He tells David he's come to Earth to try to understand human beings, and that quest is worth a lifetime's effort -- whatever planet you call home.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Cusack, of course, is the perfect Anti-Schmaltz. His rapid-fire delivery makes everything he says sound like it's just pouring from his brain to his mouth, so that even the sappiest dialogue is rendered sincere.

Variety Ronnie Scheib

Knockout performances by John Cusack and child actor Bobby Coleman help legitimize a whimsical but sententiously moralizing script.

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

Those who stick with Martian Child won't entirely avoid mush, but they will find terrific performances.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Amanda Peet exudes her patented mix of charm, beauty, humor and smarts as the best friend who may become more than a friend.

Chicago Tribune Tasha Robinson

The film plot about the needy kid who redeems a male loner has been done to death, and on the surface, Martian Child just looks like another entry in the genre, a close follower to “About A Boy.”

New York Post Kyle Smith

Cusack shows that he can still play the sensitive-but-fun guy until the ladies sigh and the men take notes.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

One soggy slab of sentimental uplift, but it doesn't pretend to be anything else, and there's some honor in that.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

It's hard to say what, aside from novelty, is gained by having the boy believe he's from Mars, because the core emotion in the film comes from the simple, common premise of an adoptive father and son trying to forge a life together.

Entertainment Weekly Gregory Kirschling

The problem with Martian Child is that it wants to be a story about outcasts, but Dennis doesn't come off as a cute little rebel.

Village Voice Robert Wilonsky

Martian Child certainly isn't much fun, unless you were desperately awaiting K-PAX with a kid instead of Kevin Spacey.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

In drama, and just about everything else, almost is never enough. Which is why Martian Child, about the growing bond between an adult and child, never reaches us.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Cusack makes a half-hearted attempt to connect with Coleman, but chemistry is fatally absent and small wonder: Dennis is a unsettlingly strange creature who could well be from another planet.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Martian Child wants to make us cry. It nearly made me gag. This is an exercise in shameless and inept emotional manipulation.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The movie leaves no heartstring untugged. It even has a beloved old dog, and you know what happens to beloved old dogs in movies like this. Or if you don't, I don't have the heart to tell you.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Before long, the story's conceit -- a loud-and-clear metaphor for the ways in which we all sometimes feel alien when it comes to human relationships -- just becomes wearying.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The two characters' pasts are so sketchy here that the drama lacks any serious emotional underpinning.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Whatever glimmers of cleverness Martian Child offers, it all comes to Earth with a thud in the shamelessly manipulative climax.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

The entire cast is fully committed to this squishily sentimental tale, which is especially impressive given that it's the kind of generic dramedy you'll swear you've seen a thousand times before.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

At the end of Martian Child, we're told the movie is "inspired by actual events." But the movie isn't even fully inspired by David Gerrold's source novel that was inspired by actual events.

Austin Chronicle Toddy Burton

Only in Hollywood can a movie about alien children be boring. Even if the kid isn’t really an alien (no spoilers), there’s still opportunity galore for the wild and the weird.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

100 percent goo.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Martian Child would like to be "About a Boy (Who Thinks He's a Martian)", but, disappointingly, it doesn't even come close.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

It's off in many directions - false in its details, false in its relationships, false in its emotions - but probably the first and worst thing that needs to be said about it is that it's also overlong and dull.

Premiere Aaron Hillis

Filmed in 2005, the first of two Cusack widower flicks this season (the weepier and more indie "Grace is Gone" hits theaters in December) Martian Child is also a Franken-schmaltz monster of cobbled-together Cusack movie parts.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 21 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Chad S. gave it a7:
You can't set your film at a planetarium without conjuring up Nicholas Ray's "Rebel Without a Cause", which in effect, rips off the extrapolative conceit that Dennis(Bobby Coleman) is a child from outer space. The "martian" boy feels uncomfortable on Mars' surface. The red planet is not his home, after all. Dennis tells his adoptive father David(John Cusack) that he might be from a different Mars. Later on, "Martian Child" returns to the planetarium, where David's epiphany results in these compassionate words of acceptance to his adoptive son, "I'm not even that smart. I can see it. It's so obvious, " as both males(one from Mars, one from Venus) face each other on the building's ledge, past the precipice of knowing. Why Bobby keeps a collection of other people's stuff in his closet suddenly becomes obvious: he doesn't want to be the only one. "Martian Child" may someday be reappraised as an important film once it's recognized that Dennis, in all likelihood, is a future candidate for SRS(sex reassignment surgery), because this martian child, this earthling with the pipsqueak voice, feels alien in his own skin, feels pretty.

Daniel B. gave it a10:
I thought this movie was AMAZING! I finally saw this movie & wanted to watch it over & over. I'm at a loss for words & wanted the story to go on & on. There is a Martian Child in all of us & learning how to deal with our insecurities is all apart of growing up & trusting people. I would love to more movies as honest as this one.

Jay H. gave it a5:
Strange film, I did not find it particularly appealing. The cast is great, but I do not think the material was very interesting. It all has a hidden meaning and moral, but after about 30 minutes it was obvious and boredom followed. If you have something to say, just say it, why bother with the silly Martian element.

Eric E. gave it a7:
Fairly predictable story line. But a good heart touching movie. I enjoyed watching it.

Stan B. gave it a10:
One of the best overlooked movies in years.

Kathryn A. gave it a10:
At last, a movie with an intelligent script! From beginnning to end, Martian Child is a clever, quirky, funny, heartfelt film that never becomes too sappy or maudlin. The chemistry between Cusak and this wonderful child actor is wonderful to watch. Forget the critics, who don't seem to have any hearts anymore. This is a movie that will please all ages. Really, go see it—you won't be disappointed.

Billy S. gave it a6:
Martian Child feels like it was a really good story on paper, which I suspect is why John Cusack took the role, but someone decided to desperately pull at the heartstrings and came up with this sentimental Disney channel movie-of-the-week. The best part of the movie were the previews for Grace Is Gone, another film with John Cusack that looks like a film that even he will say he likes!

Martian Child New Line Cinema

Martian Child
New Line Cinema