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Metropolis
Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    A wild elaboration. If you have never seen a Japanese anime, start here. If you love them, Metropolis proves you are right.
  2. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    89
    By 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.
  3. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    88
    The story is compelling, but Metropolis is such a visual masterpiece, it's easy to get lost within its seemingly endless layers of graphic complexity.
  4. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Perry
    88
    Poetic, surreal, and curiously powerful.
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  5. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Liam Lacey
    88
    May not have the most sophisticated narrative, but it is one of the most spectacular and masterly demonstrations of animation in screen history.
  6. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    83
    This is no Disney fable and the apocalyptic vision isn't for everyone, but science-fiction fans and adventurous filmgoers will find this ingenious explosion of retro-cyberpunk a compelling dystopian vision with a gleam of hope.
  7. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Ron Wells
    80
    They should have produced this in 3D for IMAX as Metropolis is the kind of work destined to blow the minds of stoners everywhere.
  8. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: David Chute
    80
    This muscular anime melodrama is so visually splendid that on that level alone it qualifies as a breakthrough.
  9. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    80
    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.
  10. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Luke Y. Thompson
    80
    Roll with any stylistic difficulties you might initially have, and prepare to be awed.
  11. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    75
    Here is a film of staggering technical and visual virtuosity, filled with utterly amazing images, that's also entertaining and engaging for children and adults on several levels.
  12. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    Superior animated film from Japan.
  13. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    60
    The 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.
  14. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    60
    A hallucinatory tour de force of color, perspective and scale, virtually encapsulates the history of Japanese animation.
  15. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    50
    The dialogue is dubbed into English by generic actors, whose phony, emotionless rendition undermines what's on the screen.
  16. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    50
    Metropolis is "A.I." without tears.
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