Rating: 
Summary: Spielberg's best movie
Review: Despite its poor box-office, and competing for recognition with a sentimental favorite at the Oscars, (Bertolucci's The Last Emperor),Empire of the Sun is Spielberg's best movie to date, Schindler's List included. The story itself, and the brilliant performance of Christian Bale, would be enough to recommend it, but Spielberg's superb use of the techniques of cyclic action, symbolism, portent, etc also makes this one of the best teaching tools available. While there is a "large issue" message here, there are also many profound smaller messages, and one viewing is never enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps the best child acting performance ever.
Review: I have been in awe of Haley Joel Osment for a few years now. However, I think I have finally seen a child actor outperform him. Christian Bale was nothing short of flawless in "Empire Of The Sun". In a different actor's hands, this film wouldn't have been nearly as moving and special. However, Bale displays more talent than most seasoned Hollywood actors.As you probably know, "Empire Of The Sun" is about a young British boy who becomes separated from his parents during WWII and ends up in an internment camp. Being a Spielberg film, the direction and cinematography are, of course, stunning. Great effort was put into making this film appear realistic and it works wonderfully. In fact, this was the first major American film shot in China. Another strong point of this movie is that it is shown through the eyes of a child. Often, war movies are all too harsh, violent and depressing. "Empire Of The Sun" successfully shows us glimpses of the brutalness of war but it also allows us to keep a constant feeling of hope and determination. That is in no small part due to the talent of Bale. He makes the viewer feel what he feels. There is an amazing amount of passion in his performance. It's a shame that this is one of Spielberg's least respected efforts. I put off seeing "Empire Of The Sun" for a long time because of the tepid reviews it received. Instead of mediocrity, however, I found a movie filled with inspiration. Please do yourself a favor and see it as well!
Rating:
Summary: Great movie!
Review: I've seen this movie about 4 times and not once have I gotten bored with it. This movie tells the story of a rich kid who ends up losing literally everything during the war. We see the process of how he matures from a spoilt, childish kid to a streetwise and independant young man. Out of all the Steven Speilberg movies I've seen, I actually think this is one of the best. Christian Bale does a really good job in this movie; he's natural- gutsy yet vulnerable. I love the soundtrack, it's fantastic and enhances the relevant scenes. This is a beautiful movie.
Rating:
Summary: Another great movie about the WWII era
Review: This movie provides a unique perspective of WWII from the eyes of a British-colonist boy living in China during WWII. The movie is very well done, especially considering it is based on a true story.
Rating:
Summary: Gone with the Wind?
Review: The movie starts with a boy (Jim). Whom is a very wealthy English boy living in China during the early 40's. His dad runs a textile factory. Upon the invasion of the Japanese into China Jim is separated from his family. Jim is eventually moved to a camp of sorts, not really a concentration camp, but a prison camp nonetheless. Jim adapts well to his new surroundings and makes friends with the American's in the camp. Jim's life of privilege is far from over, as in one part of the movie he actually eats "weebles" some type of maggot I suppose. The movie goes on through 3 years of war. The movie ends with the American's and their p-51 mustangs, bombing the camp. Jim is eventually returns to his former life, but not until he witnessed the atom bomb drop. Quite a good movie, although the movie is slow in spots. Overall well done and a great soundtrack.
Rating:
Summary: A magical and unforgettable experience
Review: Ever wondered about what it means to be free? What is the difference between democracy and tyranny, not on some esoteric philosophical level but down in the dirt on the ground where it matters? Ever wonder what America at its very best looks like to the rest of the world? This film will show you. Jamie is a son of wealthy British colonials in China, who lives in a secure bubble of wealth and social isolation that is blown apart by the arrival of the Japanese invasion. Transformed from a noble to a slave, he can only adapt in the most American of ways, taught and also challenged (on a spiritual level) by Basie, his ultra-pragmatic mentor and American expatriate. As many young boys do, Jamie worships flight and the men who fly. Airplanes and their role in WWII serve as a metaphor for a "higher power" in Empire of the Sun, and airplanes also serve as a vehicle for several personal epiphanies on Jamie's part that I won't give away. This film, like so many great films, cannot be properly enjoyed in a room full of talking people, with dropped popcorn, ringing cellphones and other distractions. Get yourself alone, or with one other special person, turn off the lights, and prepare to have your life subtly but decisively changed by this film. I give it my highest recommendation, and in my mind it deserves a place in the top 100 best films ever made.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best films Ever Made
Review: Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun" is based on the autobiographical novel by J.G. Ballard.
Jim, the main character, and his prestigious family live in Japan during the Japanese-American war. Things start to get chaotic and the local Americans and Brits. decide it's time to pack their bags and scoot. Jim holds his mother's hand in a large swarming crowd, only to lose it as he leans down to pick up his toy airplane. The airplane becomes obviously symbolic to Jim as the war carries on. He loves planes, bombers, B1's, planes of any kind. Jim is "rescued" by a loathesome, dependent creature played by John Malkovich, who's only true interest in the boy is to sell him at first, but use him for his own selfish benefit later. Jim characteristically has enough charm to wriggle free of most enounters, such as this one to survive. All remainding Americans and British countrymen are forced out of the city. The boy is smarter than most, who nearly lose their minds living in a Japanese camp.
Oddly, in the camp Jim is the true survivor. He learns the ropes of the camp quickly and does well pleasing himself and others. One quote from the movie that hit me emotionally is when Jim is asked what he learned best. He replies "People will do anything for a potato." True. He survives war, bombs, hunger, losing his family, backstabbing by people he needs to trust, and still maintains a place of respect in the camp. The "camp" becomes Jim's whole life, and he makes the best of it. I don't want to spoil any shocking moments, but there are many. There are enough outstanding , "little miracles" to keep the rhythm of this movie flowing to the end. I believe "Empire of the Sun" is equal to or better than my other favorite Spielberg movie, "The Color Purple". Both are fabulous, real, and substantial. They should be in everybody's DVD collection.
Rating: 
Summary: If Spielberg's name were not on it it would be forgotten
Review: I looked forward because I heard this was a great movie. It is NOT a great movie. It is a collage of scenes that are not even in logical sequence...there is no point to the story really...
The ususal Spielberg special effects are good, but, damn, a good story that made sense would have been a lot better....
Rating:
Summary: One of the best war films EVER - magnificent sound track.
Review: This is perhaps one of the best two films ever made about war. The other one is Das Boot, which also portrays war from a very personal and devastating point of view. Empire of the Sun is both tragic and heroic. It is amazing to me that people actually lived through such events, and overcame the greatest difficulties with dignity. My mother was a child during WWII and was bombed, shot at, and struggled to find food to eat. Empire of the Sun helped me understand what she went through. My guess as to why this film was not as successful as it should have been is that it is missing the Rambo element that the violence-seeking public glorifies so much. Certainly the special effects are not as spectacular as those in Pearl Harbor or the Titanic, but then a really good film does not need to rely on special effects. John Williams' glorious musical score is one of his best.
Rating:
Summary: Speilberg Made a Great Film - despite himself
Review: I do not need a Hollywood approach and emotionally "meaningful" music to inform me of the horror of the Holocaust. The only way that can be approached is through documentaries from Claude Lanzmann's Shoah through Renais' Nuit et Broussard (DVD, please.) But Empire of the Sun is a different matter entirely. Speilberg's usual tendencies to control the viewers emotions in a calculatedly manipulative and sentimental way got blasted to smithereens by the overwhelming and uniquely twisted artistic vision of the author of the source material, Jim Ballard's quasi-autobiographical eponymous novel. (A more accurate version of these events appears in Ballard's later novel The Kindness of Women.) One of the greatest novelists of the century (and, yes, young lad Jim who saw the glow from Nagasaki in the Eastern sky is the author of Crash) Ballard's intensity could not be controlled. Even by the master manipulator Speilberg. Those of you who resent being told what to think and how to feel moment by moment throughout a film are probably used to ignoring Speilberg. Don't ignore this. It was beyond his control from the get-go. Caveat 1: I have not seen A.I. yet, but I doubt Kubrick's material would be able to excercise the same power as Ballard's. Caveat 2: While not a great film, 1941 (which evidently everyone hated except me) DID have a certain excessively hysterical charm.
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