Arata, Bengal, Etsushi Toyokawa, Kenichi Endo, Naoto Takenaka ...( see more  see more... ) , Renji Ishibashi , Takako Tokiwa , Toshiaki Karasawa

Based on the hugely successful, award winning manga series created by Naoki Urasawa (Yawara; Monster), 20TH CENTURY BOYS is the first instalment of the mind-blowing, three-part live-action adaptation ...( read more  read more... )of the epic sci-fi fantasy adventure originally inspired by the T. Rex song 20th Century BoyIn 1969, Kenji, an elementary school kid and his friends built a secret base during their summer holidays. They fantasized that they had to fight villains who were out to conquer the world and wrote them in the Book of Prophecies. Years later in 1997, Kenji becomes a convenience store manager and leads a regular life after giving up his dreams to become a rock star. His boring life is suddenly turned upside down when his old classmate dies mysteriously and an entire family in the neighbourhood disappears. At the same time, a religious cult and its mysterious leader, Friend emerges and a strange chain of events duplicating exactly the events described in the Book of Prophecies follow. Is this the beginning of the end of the world? Who is Friend?

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66% liked it

1,286 ratings

Unrated, 2 hr. 22 min.

Directed by: Yukihiko Tsutsumi

Release Date: August 30, 2008

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Flixster Reviews (201)


  • December 24, 2009
    This is a pretty good movie. I've been watching a few Asian movies at the moment and fit right in there. Its a quite clever story that I have not heard or seen before and I enjoyed it. If only the acting was more improved and the special effects directing was not at all jaw dropp...( read more)ing.
  • February 8, 2010
    This is good story and many good actors are there.

    Actually, I have read just some episodes of the original comic, but I think the atmosphere of this movie is not different from the original.

    But I was bothered there were too many comedians as actors in this movie, especially "...( read more)Yoshimoto" comedians.
  • December 20, 2009
    Loved this brilliant sci-fi conspiracy movie of a cult led by a shadowy figure called Friend who plans on destroying Tokyo and spread a deadly virus around the globe on New Year's Eve 2000 which is linked to a book of prophecies a group of pals created when they were kids. The mo...( read more)vie takes it's time in letting us know the background behind the story with plenty of character development. The first half might seem boring to some but once the second half kicks in, the movie starts to take off. The mecha attack near the climax is amazing to watch with the movie ending on a tantalising cliffhanger.
  • August 31, 2009
    Huh. I actually think i'm not qualified enough to rate this movie, if that's even possible. I don't know the manga so i don't understand what's the tone of it. The movie was at the same time funny, weird, suspens, blunt (?)..... Somewhat like a parody but not so much... i was con...( read more)fused and it was damn too long, eventhough it was really interesting.
  • August 23, 2009
    Peculiar in the most positive of ways. The childhood and the present blends perfectly. A must watch...... for me, at least
  • April 28, 2009
    after saw this film, I'd like to read the manga, and want to know what happen next.
  • March 11, 2009
    Yukihiko Tsutsumi gets the honor of bringing the popular 20th Century Boys manga to life. As you may have guessed, T. Rex's famous song, "20th Century Boy" is an inspiration for this.

    At 2 hours and 20 minutes, this movie alone is not enough, which is why this live acti

    ...( read more)on adaptation is only the first chapter with an ending that indicates a chapter 2. One of the disappointing aspects of this movie is that it takes a while to pick up because a lot of time is spent on the character buildup and the story background. This isn't a bad thing, but the film seems pretty uneventful for more than the first hour. Nonetheless, the buildup is nicely done and important, albeit attention is required.

    The film spans multiple decades. We are talking from the 1960s up to the year 2014, with the bulk of it taking place in the 90s and 2000. Why am I mentioning this? Well, the film jumps around a bunch, which in the beginning, makes the characters a little difficult to follow and remember. There are a good number of characters by the way. On the positive side, the jumping around in time keeps the story interesting.

    Eventually the second half of the film focuses on the older versions of the characters as they reunite to fight evil. This is similar to Stephen King's It. The effects are nicely done and the only a few plot holes really hurt the latter segments.

    Toshiaki Karasawa carries this film without a problem and most of the supporting cast do their jobs, including the beautiful Takako Tokiwa.

    20th Century Boys takes a while to get going, but it is interesting enough to make those that haven't read the manga want to.

  • October 12, 2008
    Intense japanese movie! Not bad, it is worth my hype. Waiting for part 2.
  • September 22, 2008
    It was captivating but also annoying. Who is the "Tomodachi"? I think I now have to invest my hard earned cash on reading the comics!!! Arrrghhhh
  • September 9, 2008
    should read the manga first~

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