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BATTLE FOR TERRAMovie Reviews
Animation adventure about two alien teens living on the beautiful planet Terra, a place that promotes peace and tolerance until it is invaded by human beings fleeing war and environmental catastrophe. Cast:Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long, Luke Wilson, Dennis Quaid, Amanda Peet, Chris EvansDirector:Aristomenis TsirbasRelease Date:May 1, 2009DVD Release:September 22, 2009From:LionsgateRating:PGLength:1 hr. 25 min.
Battle for Terra played to fair reviews. Reviews were mixed. • Kirk Honeycutt wrote in the Hollywood Reporter, "The animation is splendid on what must have been, since this is not a studio film, a modest budget.... things conclude in a brisk 80 minutes." • And Rick Bentley wrote in the Dallas Morning News, "There is so much wrong with 'Battle for Terra' that it's hard to decide where to start." More Reviews Below...
Battle for Terra Positive Reviews (28 Reviews, reviews below)
Leah Rozen, People: MODERATE(cg) "Flaming spaceships and tadpole-like aliens litter a lackluster animated sci-fi tale (in 3-D) that's most notable for its ecological message."(See all of Leah Rozen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 32 words, 04/30/09
Cinya Burton, Us Weekly: WEAK(cg) "...wannabe 'Wall-E' has little for adults to enjoy, and even kids may be bored by its simple story and dull animation (despite the fact it's in 3-D)."(See all of Cinya Burton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 73 words, 04/30/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The dialogue is full of clichés but the environmentalist message is heartfelt. Some battle sequences look like a pastel-colored video game, but 'Battle' is ambitious."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 280 words, 05/01/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (7 Reviews)
Neil Genzlinger, New York Times: WEAK "If you're making an animated movie about another planet and go to the trouble of doing it in 3-D, shouldn't you give your extraterrestrials an interesting, complex appearance?"(See all of Neil Genzlinger's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 303 words, 05/01/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: POOR(cg) "Indifferent 3-D effects... a story that's both too talky and too slow-moving for kids... the film's bedraggled look... as dull and irritating as a day spent filling out tax returns."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 273 words, 05/01/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE(cg) "I appreciate its anti-war message; so much in our popular culture is designed to feed a new generation of eager, desensitized warriors, virtual or otherwise."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 536 words, 05/01/09
Vadim Rizov, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...the alien dialogue ('Inventions that are against our teachings are not approved.' 'Then maybe our teachings are wrong!') makes a good case for wiping the suckers out."(See all of Vadim Rizov's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 212 words, 04/29/09
KEY CITIES (13 Reviews)
Dan Kois, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "...you may find yourself wishing that director Aristomenis Tsirbas had replaced the movie's poorly written dialogue and implausible plot with more battle scenes."(See all of Dan Kois's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 356 words, 05/01/09
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...packs on the environmental lessons and tolerance lessons and give-peace-a-chance lessons and lessons in heroic self-sacrifice that make... hard-core tear-jerking."(See all of Amy Biancolli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 537 words, 05/01/09
Dale Roe, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: POOR(cg) "The sub-par animation is only the beginning of 'Battle for Terra's' problems.... The script contains more holes than 'Terra's' compromised atmosphere."(See all of Dale Roe's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 489 words, 05/01/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: WEAK(cg) "There are messages about acceptance, about free will, about doing the right thing. And the 3-D animation is quite good. But the story and characters aren't engaging."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 334 words, 05/01/09
Justin Berton, San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...says more about the real world we live in, and the future we could inhabit, than any 2-D, real-world film could have said."(See all of Justin Berton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 446 words, 05/01/09
Ethan Gilsdorf, Boston Globe: WEAK(cg) "You can tell the militaristic humans are bad because their spaceships are metal and glow neon, whereas Terrians fly low-tech, bird-shaped aircraft made of cloth and love."(See all of Ethan Gilsdorf's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 330 words, 05/01/09
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "There's a lot to admire, particularly the film's blunt, though not harsh, vision of two different yet equally evolved species proving to be as destructive as they are great."(See all of Tom Keogh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 422 words, 05/01/09
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It's gorgeous and has a spark of something special... But it ends up a dispiriting hash of other, better films and a dreary series of lessons on living together greenly."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 207 words, 05/01/09
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a middling movie, an admirable effort that looks much better than 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' but won't incite similar battles, pro or con."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 277 words, 05/01/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: WEAK(cg) "...a war movie grafted onto an anti-war message.... comes across as a 'Battlestar Galactica' vetted by pacifists, 'Clone Wars' neutered for Saturday morning kids' TV."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 409 words, 05/01/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "What if the daily rhythms of a planet's inhabitants are shattered when an invader from outer space arrives with territory in mind?"(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 490 words, 05/01/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (4 Reviews)
Vadim Rizov, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...the alien dialogue ('Inventions that are against our teachings are not approved.' 'Then maybe our teachings are wrong!') makes a good case for wiping the suckers out."(See all of Vadim Rizov's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 212 words, 04/29/09
Brett Michel, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Say you want to produce an independent computer-animated sci-fi epic but you don't have the deep pockets of Pixar or DreamWorks -- what to do?... you simplify."(See all of Brett Michel's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 153 words, 04/30/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (1 Review)
Neil Genzlinger, New York Times: WEAK "If you're making an animated movie about another planet and go to the trouble of doing it in 3-D, shouldn't you give your extraterrestrials an interesting, complex appearance?"(See all of Neil Genzlinger's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 303 words, 05/01/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (2 Reviews)
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "The animation is splendid on what must have been, since this is not a studio film, a modest budget.... things conclude in a brisk 80 minutes."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 637 words, 05/01/09
Neil Genzlinger, New York Times: WEAK "If you're making an animated movie about another planet and go to the trouble of doing it in 3-D, shouldn't you give your extraterrestrials an interesting, complex appearance?"(See all of Neil Genzlinger's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 303 words, 05/01/09
24.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Battle for Terra's reviews are separated by an average 24.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Battle for Terra (28 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Battle for Terra's reviews cover 55.2% of potential readers (average is 68.0%). Volume:The film's reviews total 9,098 words involume (average is 20,221 words). Length:The film's reviews average 325 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Battle for Terra Coverage, Volume & Length (28 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 9.4 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.3 Release)
Battle for Terra's reviews on average broke 9.4 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.3 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Battle for Terra's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Battle for Terra (28 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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