Astro Boy |
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 • Japan / Hong Kong / USA • 2009 • 94m •    • Directed by: David Bowers. • Starring: Charlize Theron, Freddie Highmore, Ryan Stiles, Eugene Levy, Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Bill Nighy, David Alan Grier, Alan Tudyk, Newell Alexander, Bob Logan, Dee Bradley Baker, Kristen Bell. • Music by: John Ottman.      Set in futuristic Metro City, Astro Boy is about a young robot with incredible powers created by a brilliant scientist in the image of the son he has lost. Unable to fulfill the grieving man's expectations, our hero embarks on a journey in search of acceptance, experiencing betrayal and a netherworld of robot gladiators.
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I loved that line, until I realized that there's something more we can do to augment that passage. If I would rephrase that line today, I might as well say, "Ask not what your country can do for you - neither ask what you can do for your country - but ask what you and your country, or better, you and the whole world, can do together." Astroboy was a showcase for thinkers. As for me who has been dealing with morality for all I know, find this movie among the most amazing I've ever watched. Some may not care about slavery, power trip, or life's purpose... but I do... and it's my passion.
I sat down the theater expecting little from this movie as people have given it negative remarks. Yet at the end of the show, I was perhaps the most ecstatic who walked out of the big screen.
The animations were great. The voice actors? Just wow! And the sounds? Wonderful. These however, are less concerns for me. For what made me love Astroboy the way it is weren't these although they have obviously contributed somehow. What I loved about Astroboy is the philosophy tied to it mainly: Slavery, Power, and Purpose.
On Slavery, One may not have to think too deep to see how humans in the movie treated the robots. Hasn't it been an issue that the world is trying to wrestle? the fact is that it was, and still is. To treat slaves as nothing more than mindless creation built for the service of the greater is to make a mockery of the sanctity of life. I can see it through the eyes of the makers because we have house-helps here... and I would say that sometimes, they weren't treated as they are supposed to be. We must never forget that any time we discriminate someone because of their race, social status, culture, economic status, or even gender, is an insult to humankind. I can see the robots here that portrays the feelings of the servants who are simply thrown out when they are no longer needed. There was a scene (SPOILER ALERT) in the movie where Astro had a conversation with one of the Robots in a sea of scrap metals called the Surface. "This is what happens to us when they don't need us anymore," shares the robot, who looked like a mechanical zombie. This is saddening as I look at street children abandoned by their parents and old grandparents abandoned by those whom they once had taken care of. Perhaps, this could help us, not open our eyes, but more so, to lift our entire body for action.
On Power, Albeit comically, this has done a great job in portraying the some presidents of the world today. As bad as it may sound, President Stone had been on his own trip for power, bypassing moral judgments with his own ambition to power... and even when his ratings plunges all time low, insisted on maintaining his throne through extra-constitutional means. I've once heard of the saying, "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." He who cannot handle power, deserves no right to hold it. The movie portrays what happens when a power monger goes on a power trip and those in position turns a blind eye. Again, this hopefully, can help us move one step forward in an action to keep the sanity of our leaders in check.
On Life's Purpose, Astroboy definitely had a one liner that made me love the whole thing. (SPOILER ALERT) At the end of the movie, a monster suddenly appears that threatens the life of many. Astroboy looked at his dad and prepares to battle the villain. His father asked him, "Son, are you sure you want to do this?" Astroboy, without batting an eyelid, smiled at his dad saying, "Yes dad, this is what I was made for." and flies away.
"This is what I was made for." In regular terms, this doesn't mean a thing. For Christians, this means the whole world. Any Christian who's been serving in the ministry will tell you that those seven words mean so much. Ephesians 2:10 seems to sum it all up. It says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." This is what we are made for. Let's not forget that God has planted a longing for every person to do the right thing because that's exactly what gives life its direction. Every time you do good, you move forward in life. This is what God has made us for. My friends, let us not forget our mission here. This is our purpose.
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Conclusion? I love it. I love Astroboy and if there's one movie that I wanna watch again, there's no doubt, this is the one. I've never made such an extensive review of a film. This just shows how much I loved it. People won't appreciate Astroboy if they are not action oriented and philosophically driven. But if you look for the things you can learn after seeing the movie, Astroboy is one thing you're gonna enjoy.
Review by Julius Uy from the Internet Movie Database.
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