Metropolis shares with Astroboy two of Tezuka's themes: 1/ Father-son troublesome relationship due to the Father's rejection and unloving treatment of the son. 2/ The presence of a great variety of old-style chunky robots and very developed humanoids who ask themselves what/who I'm I?
The animation is flamboyant and amazing regarding the settings, backgrounds, architecture and machinery, and combines 2-D and 3-D mixed with some real movie elements. Some of the scenes at the end of the movie are spectacular from a visual point of view.
The mood of the movie is excellent, with the creation of a retro-futuristic city very developed, but impoverished and without freedom. We have the bright city and the underworld, with different colours and styles.
The music is fantastic, also retro, with lots of Mow-Town, classic Jazz, alternating with symphonic pieces that reminded me of John Williams'.
The script, though, is a poor mix of well-known sci-fi elements and characters. I found the script not engaging most of the time, not only because of the lack of originality of the same, but, above all, because of the drawing of the characters is completely childish, which barely fits with the innovative and more artistic style of the rest of the movie. Tima and Kenichi are beautifully drawn, and, being children, the style suits them, but the adults are drawn in a very different style, very 1970s cartons!, which doesn't seem to give visual homogenity to the film or fit the story.
I felt that the movie was perfect for teenagers, with elements that would suit both children and young adults, not as much for adults, unless you are a Tezuka's fan. Entertaining nevertheless.
