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The NeverEnding Story
User Score
4.6 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 16
  3. Negative: 7 out of 16

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  1. JC
    Dec 9, 2007
    8
    A great fantasy tale that left a lasting impression. It may pale in comparison to children's movies today, but it was way ahead of its time back in 1984.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. MovieLonely94
    Oct 20, 2010
    10
    this fantasy adventure movie kicks a**. it has great character development, awesome visual effects, and beautiful music. Rating: 10/10
  3. lasttimeisaw
    Jan 25, 2012
    4
    I am genuinely underwhelmed by this film, and to tell the truth many adventurous family fantasy films from past decades nearly live up to their fame, the most notorious one is THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987), and now TNS is another competent contender (the first three STAR WARS are the scarce exceptions). The film is Petersen’s exacting project after the tremendous triumph of DAS BOOT (1981), but the slender skeleton of the story (a 90 minutes running time which only covers half of the original novel by Michael Ende) could not even ignite any thrill after 28 years of its release. The only redeeming feature is the onerous special effects which are yet behind the times. Maybe the ugly truth is that I have become so immune to all these childish fairy tales, thus I feel frustrated by the wide-eyed storytelling without any visual tenability, it seems that my commitment of the film is null and void, which just leaves me the only option is to find fault with the film’s sumptuous but jejune storytelling, if Fantasia is so insipid, it may not worth any fantasies there. I also wonder whether or not films like THE LORD OF THE RING TRILOGY, HARRY POTTER franchise or AVATAR (2009), our nowadays favorites will receive the same mishaps several decades later? Time will tell, but save for an indomitable technique renovation, it is the sole sincerity towards his demographic viewers that any filmmaker should bravely undertake before let their works ravage the market and become a cash-bagging vicious circle, which is verifiable throughout the entire march progress of film industry.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
46 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 3 out of 10
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    The idea of the story within a story is one of the nice touches in The NeverEnding Story. Another one is the idea of a child's faith being able to change the course of fate. Maybe not since the kids in the audience were asked to save Tinker Bell in Peter Pan has the outcome of a story been left so clearly up to a child's willingness to believe.
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  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not Credited)
    90
    Wolfgang Petersen's The NeverEnding Story is a marvelously realized flight of pure fantasy.
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  3. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Dave Kehr
    30
    Despite the sophistication of the source material, this 1984 film isn't particularly successful: Petersen insists on forcing the superficial moral lessons, and the half hour removed from the film by its American distributors leaves it with a harsh, choppy rhythm.
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