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Nim's Island
User Score
6.7 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 20
  3. Negative: 3 out of 20

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  1. DecepticonPom
    May 5, 2008
    1
    I've been seeing plenty of family movies with my nephew and niece recently and enjoyed some surprisingly decent romps but this is meanderring tosh! Jodie Foster is squandered on a potentially great role that ultimately serves no purpose whatsoever than to hang a tugidly flimsy and unexplored possible romance in the last 5 seconds. Garbage!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. KatieD.
    Nov 30, 2008
    10
    I liked Nim's Island because my favorite part was the flying lizards! Katie, age 6.
    • 0 of 1 users said yes
  3. TonyB.
    Apr 22, 2008
    9
    A marvelous fantasy with outstanding performances by Abigail Breslin and a revelatory Jodie Foster.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. ChadS.
    Apr 7, 2008
    7
    Who the hell does Jack Rusoe(Gerald Butler) think he is? MacGyver? "Nim's Island" comes equipped with two teams of screenwriters. Maybe, just maybe, the original pair of scribes preferred that Nim Rusoe(Abigail Breslin) be given the "Castaway" treatment, rather than have "Nim's Island" be a sort of "Home Alone on a Deserted Island", especially when the loner girl shoos away a boatload of tourists. For dramatic purposes, her father should be kept off-screen for the duration that he's lost at sea. But, alas, "Nim's Island" is a children's movie. And yet, Jodie Foster gives such an inspired comedic performance as a reclusive Emily Dickinson-type writer, a tension is created between the two narratives, because Alexandra Rover's story seems aimed at adults. Since Foster raises the game, you'll want Nim to exhibit the same psychological realism as Alexandra, an agraphobic, who's forced to become a hero like her alter-ego. But the island-alone girl never seems truly terrified at her prospects of being a sudden orphan. Neither do we, because "Nim's Island" includes Jack's progress with his leaky boat. There's never any doubt about his safety thanks to an anthromorphic(read: Disneyesque) pelican. It's a shame that the filmmakers didn't give the target audience a little more credit and throw more harm towards Nim's way, because Foster gives an Oscar-caliber performance in what essentially becomes a throwaway film.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. JayH.
    Aug 1, 2008
    6
    Okay, so it's nothing great, but it's fun, entertaining, well made and enjoyable. Good cinematography. Imaginative and fun, a bit too far fetched. Good acting, but Abigail Breslin's performance is stiff and unenthusiastic.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. AriN.
    May 18, 2008
    9
    It was a cool movie. I liked it because it was a thriiler adventuere. I really thought it should have gotten a better review. -ari
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. MovieLonely94
    Oct 18, 2010
    6
    it won't bring new people to like this movie, but it was definitely worth a try.
  8. Overworlder
    Apr 13, 2011
    8
    It's mostly Home Alone on a tropical island with perhaps a touch of Mowgli. It's all rather Disneyesque but the talented Abigail Breslin and the charming setting keep it entertaining enough to watch. Jodie Foster's performance as an agoraphobic writer, however, takes the movie that extra mile. Well above the usual family fare.
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
55 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 24
  3. Negative: 1 out of 24
  1. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Robert Wilonsky
    60
    Despite its formula and flaws (chief among them Foster's sitcom-campy performance), Nim's Island is a perfectly pleasant, agreeably innocuous 'tweener adventure film.
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  2. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    63
    If you're an elementary schooler or someone who finds Gerard Butler irresistible even when fully clothed, Nim's Island may be a treat to watch. If not, it's likelier to be a chore.
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  3. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    63
    Breslin, so memorable in "Little Miss Sunshine," suffers the most. Skilled and reactive with humans, she doesn't quite muster the same engagement with her finned and flippered costars here.
    Read full review
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