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34
10,000 B.C.
55
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62
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36
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xx
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31
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41
Drillbit Taylor
57
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67
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54
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49
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34
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57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
xx
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71
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61
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65
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79
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35
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73
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24
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37
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xx
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58
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48
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55
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22
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69
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44
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53
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76
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37
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37
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61
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47
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55
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33
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93
WALL-E
64
Wanted
36
What Happens in Vegas...
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
93
WALL-E
79
Iron Man
76
Shine a Light
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Horton Hears a Who!
69
Redbelt
67
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
62
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The
61
Stop Loss
61
Incredible Hulk, The
58
Mist, The
57
Forbidden Kingdom, The
57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
55
Street Kings
55
Nim's Island
55
Baby Mama
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
49
Hancock
48
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
47
Strangers, The
44
Ruins, The
41
Drillbit Taylor
37
Made of Honor
37
Shutter
37
Speed Racer
36
College Road Trip
36
What Happens in Vegas...
35
Jumper
34
Happening, The
34
10,000 B.C.
33
Superhero Movie
31
Deception
24
Love Guru, The
22
Postal
xx
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
xx
Mamma Mia!
xx
Dark Knight, The
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

83
Alexandra
80
Band's Visit, The
76
Beauty in Trouble
47
Bella
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
59
Blind Mountain
55
Bra Boys
60
Brick Lane
70
Caramel
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
83
Chop Shop
83
Chris & Don. A Love Story
78
Counterfeiters, The
52
Diminished Capacity
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
84
Edge of Heaven, The
52
Elsa & Fred
79
Encounters at the End of the World
62
Expired
64
Fall, The
51
Finding Amanda
57
Flawless
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
60
Fugitive Pieces
45
Full Grown Men
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
69
Go-Getter, The
74
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
63
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
68
Heartbeat Detector
34
Holding Trevor
68
Honeydripper
55
Irina Palm
69
Jellyfish
60
Jihad for Love, A
68
Kabluey
62
Kiss the Bride
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
82
Last Mistress, The
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
70
Love Songs
64
Married Life
30
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33
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53
Mister Lonely
75
Mongol
52
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52
My Blueberry Nights
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
84
My Winnipeg
61
On the Rumba River
69
Operation Filmmaker
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
83
Paranoid Park
72
Priceless
51
Promotion, The
55
Quid Pro Quo
29
Red Roses and Petrol
79
Reprise
71
Roman de gare
56
Sangre de mi sangre
51
Savage Grace
76
Shotgun Stories
66
Son of Rambow
70
Standard Operating Procedure
62
Stuck
72
Surfwise
81
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56
Then She Found Me
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
71
To the Limit
54
Tracey Fragments, The
70
Trumbo
72
Tuya's Marriage
83
U2 3D
56
Unknown Woman
86
Up the Yangtze
79
Visitor, The
62
Wackness, The
37
War, Inc.
64
Water Lilies
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
55
Without the King
72
Woman on the Beach
64
XXY
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75
Young@Heart
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
84
My Winnipeg
84
Edge of Heaven, The
83
Chop Shop
83
Paranoid Park
83
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Chris & Don. A Love Story
82
Last Mistress, The
81
Tell No One
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Band's Visit, The
79
Reprise
79
Encounters at the End of the World
79
Visitor, The
78
Counterfeiters, The
76
Beauty in Trouble
76
Shotgun Stories
75
Young@Heart
75
Mongol
74
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
72
Woman on the Beach
72
Priceless
72
Tuya's Marriage
72
Surfwise
71
To the Limit
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
71
Roman de gare
70
Standard Operating Procedure
70
Trumbo
70
Love Songs
70
Caramel
69
Go-Getter, The
69
Operation Filmmaker
69
Jellyfish
68
Kabluey
68
Heartbeat Detector
68
Honeydripper
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
66
Son of Rambow
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
Married Life
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
64
XXY
64
Water Lilies
64
Fall, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
63
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Stuck
62
Expired
62
Wackness, The
62
Kiss the Bride
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
61
On the Rumba River
60
Fugitive Pieces
60
Brick Lane
60
Jihad for Love, A
59
Blind Mountain
57
Flawless
56
Unknown Woman
56
Then She Found Me
56
Sangre de mi sangre
55
Quid Pro Quo
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
55
Irina Palm
55
Bra Boys
55
Without the King
54
Tracey Fragments, The
53
Mister Lonely
52
Diminished Capacity
52
Elsa & Fred
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
51
Finding Amanda
51
Promotion, The
51
Savage Grace
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Bella
45
Full Grown Men
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
37
War, Inc.
34
Holding Trevor
33
Miss Conception
30
Meet Bill
29
Red Roses and Petrol
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Polar Express, The
Warner Bros.
FILM:
GAMES:
MPAA RATING: G for General Audiences
Starring
Tom Hanks,
Leslie Harter Zemeckis,
Eddie Deezen,
Nona M. Gaye,
Peter Scolari,
Brendan King,
Mark Mendonca,
and
Gregory Gast
When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe. (Warner Bros.)
| GENRE(S): |
Animation
|
Family/Kids
|
Fantasy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Robert Zemeckis
William Broyles Jr.
Chris Van Allsburg (book)
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Robert Zemeckis
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: November 22, 2005
Video: November 22, 2005
Theatrical: November 10, 2004
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
100 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...
100
The Hollywood Reporter
Duane Byrge
A story that soars with breakneck pace but slows in all the tender moments. Visually, this train ride is both majestic and edge-of-your-seat.

100
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
An enchanting, beautiful and brilliantly imagined film.

100
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
A movie for more than one season; it will become a perennial, shared by the generations. It has a haunting, magical quality because it has imagined its world freshly and played true to it,

90
Washington Post
Jennifer Frey
Every detail of the beloved children's classic is meticulously reconstructed in the film, with visuals that can only be described as wondrous.

90
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
A truly satisfying holiday picture, the kind everyone can enjoy.

90
Film Threat
Rory L. Aronsky
Just like Its A Wonderful Life is shown on TV every year, The Polar Express should appear in IMAX theaters that traditionally.

88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Rick Groen
So delightful it should come with a parental advisory: "Jaded adults, beware. Viewing this may pierce your shell of cynicism and spark a renewed belief in the magic of movie-making."

88
Miami Herald
Peter Debruge
It's a good, old-fashioned North Pole adventure.

88
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
It's a sensation - both a milestone in computer-animation and a likely Christmas classic.

88
New York Post
Megan Lehmann
Devoid of 21st-century irony, this visually stunning, action-packed yuletide treat is sweet and, yes, magical in a way that will enchant kids and give older viewers a twinge of nostalgia.

88
Baltimore Sun
Chris Kaltenbach
Like the coolest train set a kid ever had. It's not real and the faces on the toy people don't look human, but it has bells and whistles galore and will take you as far as your imagination allows.

88
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
Cinematic magic.

80
Dallas Observer
Luke Y. Thompson
If you have a chance to see the 3-D IMAX version of the movie ignore any objections. But if your only choice is a regular 2-D screen, The Polar Express is still three-fourths of a great movie.

80
Chicago Reader
Andrea Gronvall
The story offers lessons in faith and self-esteem; the darker passages of the child's journey are countered by shimmering, cascading beacons of light; and fine period detail adds to the nostalgic glow.

75
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
This movie, which aspires to be a Christmas movie classic on the "It's a Wonderful Life" level, is overwhelming, enjoyable and impressive, without being really entrancing.

75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
For most of the way, it's indeed quite a ride: a cumulatively exhilarating, visually mouth-dropping, somberly stylish odyssey crammed full of virtuoso animation sequences.

70
Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
It's hard not to wish this film were more of a piece and less like loud music at the wrong party.

70
Time
Richard Schickel
Tom Hanks doesn't turn Polar Express into much of a thrill ride. For that you need 3-D goggles.

67
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
A genuinely handsome film, and it tells a story that is well worth knowing. It's a kind, gentle and sweet holiday confection. But my Christmas wish is that the DVD comes packaged with the book.

63
Premiere
Jessica Letkemann
The Hanks overload feels like The Polar Express is "Being John Malkovich" transmuted into a computer-generated 21st-century children's Christmas film.

63
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
Visually, taking its cues (mostly) from Van Allsburg's Hopperesque art, The Polar Express is eye-popping. Storywise, however, it can be eyelid-drooping.

63
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
While the 29 pages of his (Van Allsburg's) mini-classic would have made a superb half-hour TV special, Zemeckis and writer William Broyles Jr. have created a steroidal monster with a heart about one size too small.

63
USA Today
Claudia Puig
Simple and evocative, yet teeming with intriguing visual effects.

58
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
The screenplay, by Zemeckis and William Broyles Jr., plumps Van Allsburg's simple fable about the purity of childhood faith in what can't be seen with all sorts of wholly invented characters, complications, and declarations.

50
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
Zemeckis and Hanks really seem to think theyre giving us a Christmas movie for the ages and a technology that will change cinema forever. Theyre wrong on both counts. The Polar Express is merely a marvelous toy that has somehow become convinced it has a soul.

50
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
The film's characters, computer-animated over motion-caputure footage of flesh-and-blood performers, are as blank-eyed and rubbery-looking as moving mannequins -- the stuff of nightmares, not dreams.

50
Variety
David Rooney
This visually impressive yet emotional frigid fable could perhaps more accurately be tagged "The Bipolar Express."

50
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Keith Phipps
As a spectacle, The Polar Express looks remarkable. As a film, however, it's the equivalent of an elaborately wrapped Christmas present containing a nice new pair of socks.

50
Village Voice
Ed Park
When it comes to the "humans," the atmosphere collapses. Unnervingly smooth, mouths moving in strange, even frightening formations, the Polar people are the least convincing things on-screen, glaring impostors amid the otherwise painstakingly rendered scenery.

50
LA Weekly
Ella Taylor
The result is another powerful children's story dulled into mediocrity by the worship of technology.

50
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Many moviegoers may find its colors and effects delightful enough to make the experience a thrill. Look beyond the tinsel, though, and you may be disappointed.

40
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
In a word, its soulless.

30
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
A train wreck of mind-numbing proportions.
30
Salon.com
Stephanie Zacharek
Actually, the wonder The Polar Express induces feels something like a coma.

30
The New York Times
Manohla Dargis
A grave and disappointing failure, as much of imagination as of technology.

25
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
The result is a failed and lifeless experiment in which everything goes wrong.


The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 72 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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