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Twentieth Century Boys

Play trailer Twentieth Century Boys 2008 2h 22m Fantasy Mystery & Thriller Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
36% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
A burned-out rocker discovers his doom-struck adolescent fantasies are coming true in this futuristic thriller.
Twentieth Century Boys

What to Know

Critics Consensus

An overlong Japanese sci-fi epic with flashy visuals but a disjointed and frustrating approach to narrative.

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Critics Reviews

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Jon Williams Little White Lies 02/26/2009
2/5
20th Century Boys has an excellent pedigree, a huge budget behind it, and a more than competent cast -but it doesn't quite work. Go to Full Review Cath Clarke Guardian 02/20/2009
2/5
The original may have sold 20m copies but they should have kept creator Naoki Urasawa away from this script - whole swathes ought have been gutted, making for a very long and unfailingly shallow 142 minutes. Go to Full Review Justin Bowyer Empire Magazine 02/19/2009
3/5
Headache-inducingly convoluted plot and cast of characters but the action and faithfulness to the series is impressive. Be aware that this is definitely a trilogy and the ending reflects this. Go to Full Review Sean Axmaker Seanax.com 01/10/2010
Not quite science fiction and as surreal a conspiratorial epic as you'll find, this dense thriller has a distinctively Japanese sensibility. Go to Full Review Edward Porter Sunday Times (UK) 02/26/2009
2/5
We're being reminded of the banality of evil, but that only slightly raises the IQ of Yukihiko Tsutsumi's film. Go to Full Review Philip French Observer (UK) 02/26/2009
The dramatic premise is ingenious and there are two future lengthy episodes to come. But I was often baffled. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Antoine T 07/19/2024 Great original story, but a clumsy script. You have to get used to the Japanese acting and the cheap special effects as well, very different from what Hollywood produces. It's still worth to watch the whole trilogy, with a very moving ending. See more 08/15/2018 Respect the manga. Actors really look like the manga characters. Not ideal for movie adaptation ( drama would be better) and scene are more fast than the manga. I recommand for people who dreamed about a movie adaptation ( like me) See more 05/10/2014 Comic is much better See more 03/09/2014 Alien Attack on Japan... See more 09/22/2013 Sufficiently weird to keep you interested, but now I have to find the final two parts of the trilogy! Help!!! See more 09/22/2013 WOW! This is Fight Club without any fear of "going too far." See more Read all reviews
Twentieth Century Boys

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Cast & Crew

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Yukihiko Tsutsumi

Director

Toshiaki Karasawa

Kenji Endo

Etsushi Toyokawa

Occho

Takako Tokiwa

Yukiji

Arata Iura

Actor

Bengal

Actor
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Twentieth Century Boys

Twentieth Century Boys (2008) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A burned-out rocker discovers his doom-struck adolescent fantasies are coming true in this futuristic thriller.
Director
Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Producer
Morio Amagi, Ryuuji Ichiyama, Nobuyuki Iinuma
Screenwriter
Yasushi Fukuda, Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa, Yûsuke Watanabe
Production Co
Agung
Genre
Fantasy, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Dec 15, 2009
Runtime
2h 22m