nice movie lovely movie

I waited a very long time to see this movie. I remember being a kid in the early 90's seeing this movie on vhs sitting at blockbuster and I always wanted to see it but never got a chance to. Finally rented it like 18 years later on iTunes and it was a very beautiful movie. The one thing that alway caught my eye growing up was the box cover. It's very well done.

No action. No drama.

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL movie. Very heart touching, thanks for a wonderful experience Christian.

Beautiful, subtle at times and highly impactful. This story is told through the eyes of a child who’s becoming disillusioned with perhaps what is his fantastical vision of war and being a combat pilot. The “corniness” that some reviewers are referring to is actually quite a complicated but nuanced flavoring of the massive scale of the war through Jim’s eyes. I think Spielberg goes back and forth between the reality of the war and the situation Jim’s family finds themselves in and Jim’s perception, his fears and his dreams of what he thinks the war should be.

The acting is outstanding by all cast members.

A spoiled boy who slowly looses it to an insane situation. I´m sorry for his trouble. Had his colonialist parents been in England where they belong it could have been avoided. And, what about the millions in China also lost to the insanity of WWII? Were ´supposed to care about this like public school kid instead of them.

A lot of budget to throw at overdrawn symbols. I just don´t think this movie goes anywhere. Skip it and watch Schindler´s List again.

If I could give it more stars I would

Good story, a little slow at times, fantastic flying sequence late in the movie when several P-51's attacked the base. The attack is almost unbelievable, but when Christian Bale waves at the pilot and the pilot waves back it seems to be a fantasy, but I am aware of a similar event that actually took place in Holland during an attack against the Nazi's by a P-51 that put two rockets into the occupied town hall while flying up the street to the delight of a little 10 year boy waving at the pilot who waved back at him, then fired into the occupied town hall destroying it.

Brilliant!

EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Greatest movie ever created!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm obbsessed.

It is a good movie but not excellent. At times, it was slow moving. The action scenes were good but this director has done much better. I suppose it is worth seeing at home but not in a theater. Gave it 4 stars because 3 would have been too little and 5 too much!

This movie changed my life. I love this movie a lot and I advise seeing it. Great movie, you must watch it. I say that this is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Just great!

I wish they made more movies like this one, its an all time great.

I hope it was a good movie. I dont know about you guys but I had trouble downloading it so I never got to watch it. I personally think iTunes owes my $3.00 now since they charged me but it jad problems downloading :(

Complete crap ... 2.5 hours of mind numbing, yawn inspiring dog s@!t. Probably the worst $3 I've spent.

I have seen this movie a couple dozen times within the past 2 decades and it is still my favorite of all time. You live this boy's life as you get entangled in his journey. In my opinion, this is Spielberg's greatest creations. Christian Bale gives a top notch performance making his break into movies and Malkovic adds that extra something which inevitably helps this boy to grow. This is a must watch....and I am pretty sure once you watch it this first time, you will watch it again.

Truth on many different levels. Watching now, it brings so much more than it did when I first watched as a child over 20 years ago.

I have now made my wife watch it and she too loved it POWERFULLY GOOD

This is the best movie that has ever been made. Not a single part in it is boring. Even at 13 he is still great. Everyone should watch this movie, Empire of the Sun.

Think of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which is a senseless movie with a lot of pointless action scenes that don't add up to anything. They just follow one after another, each trying to eclipse the other, but none of them coming together for any kind of dramatic purpose.

Empire of the Sun is a bunch of dramatic scenes that each entertain the audience, individually, but don't add up to any kind of dramatic purpose. There are many memorable moments, some of them terrible, some of them are triumphant. But they don't have a singular theme running through them that ties them together and makes a real story out of them.

Other than Christian Bale's character "coming of age" - which basically means turning from a spoiled brat to a normal kid - there is no plot in the movie. And, to make things worse, Spielberg tries to cut down on anything heavy or depressing, and doesn't do a good job driving it in any other direction. We don't see enough of what drives Jim to loose his innocence. The prison camp, where over half of the movie takes place, isn't a really great place to be, nor is it consistently a bad place. It results in a kind of bland movie, without much conflict or sense of purpose.

Sure, it's a well-made movie - on a technical level. But not on any deeper level.

I love this movie since it come out watch it all the time

I saw this movie when I was about 13 or 14...it was amazing!!! Christian Bale did such a great job in this movie.

This is my favourite movie. I love it

Bale delivers one of the best child acting preformances along with henry thomas from ET and Haley joel osment from the 6th sense. The film is incredibly well acted and done. the plane scenes especially. As other reviews have stated, it is a bit long and you do have to concentrate in the middle to make sure you don't loose interest. But all in all a great movie, spielburg did really well (as always)

This is a fantastic movie. Every minute watching it is worth it.

I wish I could write a beautiful and bold synopsis of this movie and my feelings toward it...but I can't think of any words that would put this movie in perspective. Absolutely amazing. That's all I've got... :)

An outstanding movie worth every minute of your time.

I am utterly suprised by how good it is. Before I wached this movie i didn't like anything historical fictiony. Now I not only love these types of movies, but like reading about simmilar topicks. On my list of best movies, this is probably in the top 10. It is kind of sad but truly amazing and I highly recommend it.

Empire of the Sun, is a movie worthy of your viewing. No doubt about it. While maybe in a couple of places not completely accurate, Spielberg did a pretty darn good job, as he usually would do. "Bruce" is a pretty annoying kid in this movie, but still impresses. All in all, I say, give it a watch.

I don't remember how many times I have watched this movie, but I can tell you I always find something new and amazing in it everytime. I always said the child actor would make it big and big he did make it, considering it was Christian Bale. John Malcovich's character is great in the sense that he is manipulative and coniving yet caring in his own way. This movie shows how people can live through things they never thought they could with beautiful imagery and an excellent soundtrack. Enjoy!

This was one of the most boring movies I've rented on iTunes, way too long, hoped it would end sooner than it did. Christian Bale's character is like a hyperkinetic kid on meth, he needs some medication to slow him down. I was worn out by the end with all his running around, and the british accent makes it difficult to understand some of the dialogue. The cinematography was great and I'm sure was much better viewed on the big screen. After the movie was over I found myself asking, "what's the point?"

for all the apparent hype around this movie, I found Christian Bale's character to be maddeningly over-acted. as a Christian Bale fan I gave him the benefit of the doubt since he was so young in this film. It's typical Spielberg: epic, larger than life, and greatly tilted towards one point of view.

One of the Best Movies Ever Made... It is in the Top Three... The ending is profound ...

accompanying this wonderful film is a fantastic soundtrack led by John William's genius. The incorporation of the Ambrosian Boy Choir and James Rainbird, the soloist in the Welsh lullaby "Suo Gan" added an element that Jim was emersed in his British enclave inside China. The addition of the 1987 soundtrack to itunes would be welcome.

Bale at his best, before Hollywood chewed him up and spit out a total ego-maniac.

This movie was truly moving and when I watched there was not one person not crying in the room. It was that moving of a movie

Absolutely one of the best films I have seen in my entire life. Christian Bale is so young and adorable in this movie, and acts way beyond his years when he has to. He also keeps up with, and even steals scenes, from all of those experienced actors. (And he grew up to be one of the most handsome men in hollywood!)

An AMAZING movie. I watched it through out period of my life, I was born in the eighties when the movie first came out. I watched it in theatres and didn't understand much of it, I watched it again when I was a teen, and later (more currently) in my twenties; the movie offers something new each time. Christian Bale's start was a great one in this movie..I even have the sound track!

ds

Subtler and more restrained than either 'Ryan' or 'List', 'Empire' was Spielberg's first serious foray into filming World War II. In choosing J.G. Ballard's autobiographical novel to adapt, he managed to find a story challenging enough to his strengths and weaknesses that both improved each other. It's been said a lot, but it must be repeated, that Christian Bale gives one of the best performances of a child actor ever, and arguably still the best of his career. 'Empire' is also notable for its being shot on-location in Shanghai when China was only beginning to open up to the world; and for its humane yet clear-eyed depiction of the Japanese. The "raid on the airstrip" sequence is still one of the most thrilling combinations of cinematography and score (John Williams stretching his legs with Japanese and Chinese influences) Spielberg ever filmed.

Also interesting to note the arresting poster with IIRC the first of the many "silhouette" images used in Spielberg-related WW2 productions.

Christian Bale is one of the few child stars to make it to an adult. And from this film you can easily see why he was and still is amazing.

Speilburg took a whole new approach and visited a whole different part of World War II. He took a the life of a luxurious boy and showed how he transformed and grew with the horrors of the changing world around him.

This is not something to think about watching, JUST DO IT.

by reading this review I COMMAND YOU TO BUY THIS.

trust me, you will not be dissapointed, but you will be blissful and have shivvers going down your spine

five stars.

This movie is shot so well, the story is great, and there are no weak actors in this movie.

And Spielberg gave Christian Bale a chance and look where he is today!

This movie is one I can watch over again and not get tired of.

I personally think this is Steven Spielberg's best movie he's done.

Bale had to give one of the best child performances I've ever seen, I was with his character Jim all the way to the end of the Chinese occupation of Japan. But, despite this film's fine performances, it is not perfect. the film does sag considerably in the mid-section, and, unless you are very focused on it, you may lose interest in the story. But, fighting through this rough patch is well worth it to experience the film's uplifting, and tragic, finale. An underrated perspective on WWII from Spielberg.

This is the film that introduced Christian Bale. This movie has suspense, drama, and some of the best child acting of any film ever. But, to whoever wrote the review that stated that "Christian Bale is incredibly hot," ... Weird, because he's about 10 in this movie.