Review of Martian Child

I really wanted to like this movie, but images of K-Pax still lingered in my head and so I warily walked into the movie hoping for the best. Sure enough, there is a lot of good in the movie. The acting standard all around is high although the script did not lend much to Amanda Peet's character. Bobby Coleman, in particular, shines as a child who must be both eccentric and yet connect with the audience. The script has some clever moments, but a lot has been done before and been better handled and a couple of points in the movie drag. In spite of this, I was really looking forward to see how the whole story would turn out, and I am sad to say it left me hanging. Not so much plot-wise, but certainly emotionally and it's then the clichés that were masked by some good acting and direction reveal themselves. I'll put it this way. The whole audience remained in the seats for a full 30 seconds when the credits rolling desperately blinking and thinking, "That's it?"

In conclusion, this is a lighthearted movie with great potential that falls flat on the last laps.