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WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3
Metascore
47 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
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  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Robert K. Elder
    63
    While sci-fi conceits still permeate the plot (alien DNA, rogue scientists), attention to personal detail float world-weary, superbly-drawn protagonists in a rare movie-a character-driven animated film.
  2. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    63
    Lacks excitement, although its solid story makes for decent viewing.
  3. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    60
    The backgrounds are handsome and moody, and the character animation is less distractingly cartoonish than that of films like the otherwise breathtaking Metropolis (2001).
  4. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    60
    The romantic denouement is so predictable it must have driven the animators mad as they worked, but their modest art is eerily effective.
  5. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Carla Meyer
    50
    Follows the Japanese tradition of humanizing movie monsters, this time in a rather disturbing way.
  6. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Dan Fienberg
    50
    The two encounters with the beast WXIII -- first in a darkened factory, and later in an empty stadium, to the strains of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in G Minor (Pathétique) -- elevate the disappointingly flat animation into a vivid fable of monster and morality.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    50
    Where the too-rarefied style and the too-simple substance meet, a compromise is reached, and something uniquely haunting is formed.
  8. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Mark Holcomb
    50
    A competent if overlong blend of policier, sci-fi conspiracy thriller, daikaiju eiga (giant monster) stompfest, and tragic romance. It's also anime (short for "cheaper than live-action").
  9. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    40
    The route to the film's dramatic and poignant climax is so hard to follow that the pleasure, the potential for which is considerable, has been substantially diminished.
  10. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    40
    With its many unsolved mysteries, WXIII joins a long list of film-noir projects that end up stranded in the maze of their own invention.
  11. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    38
    The full title of this animé import is WXIII (Patlabor the Movie 3), and if you think the name's confusing, you may want to spare yourself the work of figuring out the film itself.
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