It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

I am amazed at the few who gave this low ratings. It is, for me, one of the great world war two movies. Told from the p.o.v. of a bright intelligent young English boy who has led a pampered life , we see how the larger world struggles force him to adapt and live by his wits in order to survive. Although the photography, special effects and scenes of battle are amazingly shot to make you feel a part of the action, it is the personal story of a young boy becoming a man that is compelling. We are shown how he experiences not only the horror of war, but the beauty of it as well, as emotions are heightened by life and death struggles. I wish I had seen this on the big movie theater screen, but still worth watching in any setting.

I stumbled across the existence of this movie just a couple of months ago, 30 years ago after its release. I'm not quite sure how I missed it back in 1987 but based on a score of 7.8 on IMDb and an overwhelming number of its reviews including the word "masterpiece" I was determined to seek it out and mentally prepared for a mind- blowing experience. I was therefore delighted to find it in the "classics" section of the movies on-board a recent international flight. It is not often that movies fail from the first frame, but this one did, literally. It begins with an overlong shot of some dirty water, some petals appear, then some pieces of wood, which in time turn out to be a number of wooden coffins. We zoom out to see a Japanese warship collide with them. So ends the first 2 or 3 minutes of this movie, showing a ridiculous situation which adds absolutely nothing to the story. We might be thinking, OK, well, the director has satisfied his ego and got the arty, gratuitous shot off his chest, now on to the real movie. But, alas, it was not to be so. The "plot" of this movie, and I use that word generously, is the picaresque meanderings of an obnoxious little boy to become an obnoxious slightly older boy over the period 1941 to 1945. This consists of a non-stop string of the most ridiculous, contrived, unnatural, laughable episodes you might have the misfortune to imagine. I made it to an hour and 20 minutes only because I could just not believe what I was seeing - it was, in its own masochistic way, fascinating, like watching a train crash. I will not bore you with the details of particular absurdities, but I am confident that if requested I could make a minute by minute itemised list of cringe-worthy examples. I was somewhat incredulous to find that this movie was based on a well respected "semi-autobiography" (whatever that is) by J.G. Ballard. That surely means that in its original form it had some redeeming qualities and that the author was not in fact anything like the ridiculous character in the film. Surely, hopefully, there has been a titanic "loss in translation" somewhere in the movie making process. I do not know if J.G. Ballard, Tom Stoppard or Stephen Spielberg is to blame but the screenplay is beyond execrable. It is as if it has been written by someone raised in a cave by wolves whose only knowledge of humans is from reading books. No man, woman or child I have ever known has acted, or spoken the way EVERYONE does in this movie. To say that EVERY character is a caricature would be an understatement, they are caricatures of caricatures. The Chinese are caricatures. The British are caricatures. The Americans are caricatures. The Japanese are caricatures. I also did not realise until after watching the movie that the "boy" was acted by Christian Bale. This I found astonishing as there are not so many movies about the 2nd Sino-Japanese war, the only one I know being "The flowers of war" in which Christian Bale also plays the lead role. Apart from staring Christian Bale both these films are similar in that they feature ridiculous characters in ridiculous situations. No offense to Mr Bale, he makes the best of a bad lot, but he does seem to be a bit of a jinx in this historical era. I realise that "Empire of the sun" is based on a "semi-auto biography" but it seems bizarre to me that the only movies of this historical era of China have British or American characters as their leads. Frankly, in an era in which millions of Chinese were being slaughtered or starved to death, why should I give a toss about the privileged treatment of a British boy, and a thoroughly unpleasant one at that? Perhaps one day we will get a real movie on this subject that will finally do it some justice. I do not know if the reverence for the Japanese that is so frequently flaunted in this movie is simply a reflection of J.G Ballard's original book, or something added by Spielberg or Stoppard. While I understand that in these enlightened times all the nations of the World are supposed to sit around the camp fire and sing "Kumbaya", it has to be said World War 2 was not Japan's finest hour as human beings. Therefore it seems not only strange but in poor taste that the Spielberg who recognises the horrors inflicted by the Germans on humanity in "Schindler's List" fails to recognise those inflicted by the Japanese in this movie, and in this respect it is an insult to the millions of civilian and military casualties. In fact, when I think about it, this movie is pretty much an insult to everybody. It is an insult to children, who do not behave like they do in this movie. It is an insult to adults, who do not behave as they do in this movie. It is an insult to every nationality represented. It is an insult to veterans. And it is an insult to the intelligence of the audience.

As a fan of Spielberg's films, I felt obligated to see this film. While this is certainly a good film, this is not a great one or even one of Spielberg's best. Christian Bale does give a great performance, the visuals are spectacular, and John Williams gives a haunting score. This film though is very unfocused and aloof which can make the experience a bit of a chore to sit through. I have no issues with slow dramas as long as they keep me interested in the characters and their stories, but I felt no long attachment or affection for the characters other than Bale. There are great moments throughout that can make this movie worthwhile, but other moments that will make you wonder what is going on or why it should matter. Spielberg tries to make us feel emotion for this boy and his predicament, but all I could feel was emotional confusion. Spielberg's film unfortunately for me meanders from moment to moment showing signs of depth and understanding but ultimately feeling incomplete at the end.

There are only a few films perhaps less well remembered in the career of director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan), this is one of those films, many critics see this film as a trial run for Schindler's List, I just knew it was set during the war, had a good cast and an average rating. Basically set during World War II, at the time of Japan's invasion of China, twelve-year-old British upper middle class schoolboy Jamie "Jim" Graham (young Christian Bale) enjoys a privileged and spoiled life in the Shanghai International Settlement. After the Attack on Pearl Harbor the Japanese invade the settlement, and Jim ends up separated from his mother (Emily Richard) and father (Rupert Frazer), through the panicked mob his parents shout that they will come back for him, Jim spends time hiding in his abandoned home and eats the remaining food. When food runs out Jim ventures out into the city, which has been devastated by bombings, he is taken in by American hustling partners Basie (John Malkovich) and Frank Demarest (Joe Pantoliano), but they are taken by the Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center in Shanghai for processing. In 1945, nearing the end of the Pacific War, Jim survives through terror and poor living conditions, establishing a successful trading network, camp leader Sergeant Nagata (Masatô Ibu) gets involved with it, and Dr. Rawlins (Nigel Havers), the camp's British doctor, teaches Jim, he learns how to speak Japanese. Jim visits the American POW barracks, he idolises the Americans and their culture, Basie sends him to set snare traps outside the camp's wire, in fact Basie is using him to test the area for land mines, to plot an escape, Basie rewards Jim by allowing him to move into the American barracks. As time has passed Jim has forgotten what his parents look like, the base is suddenly attacked by a group of American P-51 Mustang fighter aircraft, as a result the Japanese decide to evacuate the camp, Basie, despite promising to take Jim with him, escapes during the confusion, many of the prisoners die of fatigue, starvation and disease during the march into the wilderness. Jim arrives with the crowd at a football stadium near Nantao, filled with confiscated luxuries, Jim wanders off and overhears the news that the Japanese have surrendered and the war is over, after witnessing a Japanese teenager he met before being killed, Basie finds him and offers to find his parents. Jim is highly traumatised by everything he has gone through, and angered by the accidental death of his friend, but he is placed by Americans in an orphanage, here he is finally reunited with his parents in the end. Also starring Miranda Richardson as Mrs. Victor, Leslie Phillips as Maxton, Peter Gale as Mr. Victor, Robert Stephens as Mr. Lockwood, Burt Kwouk as Mr. Chen, Paul McGann as Lieutenant Price and Ben Stiller as Dainty. Bale does give a good performance as the boy separated from his parents and doing whatever he can to survive, the presence of stars such as Malkovich, Richardson and Havers are fine as well, the story is based on a semi- autobiographical novel by JG Ballard, but I agree with critics, being from the point of view of the boy this is perhaps a superficial look at life during war and occupation, there are some good sequences that engage you, but overall it is just an alright Second World War coming-of-age drama. It was nominated the Oscar was Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction- Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Music for John Williams, it won the BAFTAs for Best Cinematography, Best Score and Best Sound, and it was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, and it was nominated the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Original Score. Worth watching!