--- title: "Empire of the Sun: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/empire-of-the-sun/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/empire-of-the-sun" critics_score: 65 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Empire of the Sun (1987): what the critics said Critics' score 65 from 12 reviews: 7 positive, 3 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics come down in favour, and the praise clusters in the same places. The staging of Shanghai under occupation is widely admired, as is the film’s way of telling its story through what a boy sees rather than what he is told. Christian Bale’s performance as Jim is singled out in review after review, often as the thing that holds the film together. Several critics read it as the point where Spielberg turns towards darker material. The reservations gather around feeling. A recurring complaint is that the supporting characters are thin and the camp scenes softened, leaving the film handsome but distant; Radio Times and Time Out both find it tamer than Ballard’s novel, and Roger Ebert thinks it turns horror into nostalgia. The two negatives, in The New Yorker and the Los Angeles Times, date from the original release and accuse it of manipulation and coldness. The spread is wide, and the later reviews are warmer than the first. ## Slant Magazine — Martyn Bamber Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 11 October 2006. The film blends Spielberg's escapist and mature sides as a key coming-of-age work for both director and protagonist, with peerless visual storytelling and an ambiguous, unreassuring conclusion. It singles out the child's-eye view of war's horrors and loss of innocence for praise. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/empire-of-the-sun/) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 9 December 1987. Maslin praises the film's visual splendor, heroic adventurousness, and immense scope, highlighting its spectacular storytelling and the young lead's performance despite some overly movie-conscious elements. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/09/movies/moviesspecial/09SUN.html) ## Empire — Damon Wise Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The film is one of Spielberg's most fascinating and an important transition to his darker later works, though it does not fully capture the novel's broader themes. It excels in its visual storytelling of a child's loss of innocence and features a strong performance from young Christian Bale. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/empire-essay-empire-sun-review/) ## The AV Club — Keith Phipps Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 19 April 2002. The film is among Spielberg's darkest and most morally complex, focusing on the death of innocence through a child's separation from family and a surrogate relationship with Malkovich's character. It praises Bale's performance foreshadowing his later career and Stoppard's literate script. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/empire-of-the-sun-dvd-1798197183) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Duane Byrge Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 2018. The critic calls it a wonderful Christmas offering and superbly orchestrated epic visualized with David Lean-like magnitude, praising its optimistic signature through a child's eyes and Bale's stunning performance. Some supporting characters and camp scenes feel thin or sanitized. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/empire-sun-review-1987-movie-1166707/) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1986. The review highlights Spielberg's sensational staging of Shanghai and the chaos of war, commending young Christian Bale's performance while noting that other characters remain underdeveloped and limit emotional impact. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1986/film/reviews/empire-of-the-sun-1200427276/) ## Radio Times — Joanna Berry Rating 3/5. Spielberg directs a glossy and rather tame adaptation of J.G. Ballard's novel about a boy separated from his family and interned during WWII in Shanghai. It offers heroic moments and war horrors seen through a child's eyes but remains a superficial look at life under occupation despite strong supporting cast. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-qgn6ks/empire-of-the-sun/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 55/100 (inferred from the text). 11 December 1987. Ebert finds the film narratively interesting with strong staging and performances but criticizes its lack of overall direction and emotional resonance, noting it turns wartime horror into nostalgia. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/empire-of-the-sun-1987) ## Time Out — JG Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 11 March 2016. Ballard's novel is already a mild version of events witnessed; Spielberg's adaptation is milder still, with a strand of populist heroism that fails to dent the awful message about survival turning people into shits. The budget is evident, though Christian Bale's performance as Jim stands out. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/empire-of-the-sun) ## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 28 December 1987. The critic finds the film begins majestically with strong visuals of Shanghai but soon falters as Spielberg loses narrative control in favor of showy, manipulative passages. It is ultimately seen as a mix of technical achievement and tastelessness. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1987/12/28/1987-12-28-092-tny-cards-000137010) ## Los Angeles Times — Sheila Benson Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 9 December 1987. Benson admires the thrillingly staged early sequences and technical craft but faults the film for lacking emotional warmth and fully developed characters to connect with. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-09-ca-18310-story.html) ## Den of Geek — Paul Bullock Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2016. The critic calls Empire of the Sun a magical realist masterpiece that explores the conflicts between fantasy and reality through the experiences of a young boy interned in a WWII prison camp. Spielberg uses recurring motifs like planes and light to show how fantasy both helps and warps the protagonist's understanding of harsh realities, culminating in a wrenching disenchantment. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/spielberg-at-70-indy-et-and-the-1980s/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/empire-of-the-sun.md