CityLife

Astro Boy

FROM an auspicious beginning in a 1951 Japanese manga comic book , Astro Boy has become firmly embedded in popular culture around the world.

This iconic figure takes flight in a shiny, computer-animated adventure directed by David Bowers, with a simple storyline that puts a futuristic spin on the classic tale of Pinocchio.

Blessed with slick animation and some frenetically orchestrated action sequences, Astro Boy has plenty of eye-popping thrills for younger viewers, including a climactic showdown.

Regrettably, director Bowers and his animators seem more interested in technical might than emotion, sacrificing characterisation for another deafening explosion.

A surfeit of peripheral characters, including talking robots and street kids, really exposes the weaknesses in Bowers and Timothy Hyde Harris’ script.