Nim's Island (2008)
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 101
Fresh: 52 | Rotten: 49
Despite good intentions, Nim's Island flounders under an implausible storyline, simplistic stock characters, and distracting product placement.
Average Rating: 6/10
Critic Reviews: 27
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 11
Despite good intentions, Nim's Island flounders under an implausible storyline, simplistic stock characters, and distracting product placement.
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Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 179,514
My Rating
Movie Info
A young girl living on a tropical island with her scientist father is left to fend for herself after her dad's boat leaves him stranded far away and careless tour companies wreak havoc on the secluded paradise in directors Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett's adaptation of the popular children's book by author Wendy Orr. Realizing that she will need adult assistance if she truly hopes to save her home, the resourceful youngster soon begins exchanging e-mails with the author of a book she has been
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Cast
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Jodie Foster
Alexandra Rover -
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Gerard Butler
Jack Rusoe/Alex Rover -
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Abigail Breslin
Nim Ruscoe -
Maddison Joyce
Edmond -
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Nim's Island Trailer & Photos
All Critics (101) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (54) | Rotten (49) | DVD (5)
Foster proves adept at broad physical comedy, the animated sequences charm, and codirectors Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett send up the make-believe Rover with panache.
Top CriticIt's a wondrous and warmhearted adventure story with some nifty special effects and some first-rate performances.
There's a lot to like about spunky Breslin, even when she's unnecessarily recapping events or recapitulating Home Alone as she chases caricatured cruise-ship tourists from her island. She's a charismatic, energetic presence at the heart of the film
Nim's Island is a win-win proposition: an entertaining, diverting adventure saga that offers excitement and a relatable heroine for children, and also will remind their parents of favorite classics from their own youth.
A sweet-natured family adventure film that should be quite popular with the grade-school girls at which it's aimed.
Nim's aquatic adventures and those on land provide the majority of thrills in this exhilarating and enchanting family picture. It's the best I've seen this year and highly recommended for girls and for boys, too.
The material isn't up to the level of the film's lead, Abigail Breslin.
Overplayed: there are entirely too many beaming smiles and emotional flip-outs...the only reason to see this movie is Foster, whose overplaying somehow succeeds at charming where her costars fail. [Blu-Ray]
Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett do a wonderful job of balancing adventure and humor.
If you have a child, Nim's Island is the kind of film you won't be sorry you shared with him or especially her, and if you don't have a youngster, you'll wish you did.
"Jodie 'Brave One' Foster is still peeved, though now it's less about what bad people do, than how icky their unsanitary their germs are. And she isn't half bad either doing a divine nitwit dining on worms or playing soccer with a coconut in the wilds.
A more enjoyable saga of girl power than Breslin's highly touted followup vehicle, 'Kit Kittredge.'
The first half is really cute and imaginative. Unfortunately, the second half isn't quite as good.
... the cast and the cute critters make up for the weaker elements and bring home a nice movie for the 5-11 age group.
An energetic but whisper thin south sea adventure that borrows heavily from Home Alone and Jewel of the Nile.
The movie gets plain silly, but at least it's lively, and young girls will enjoy Nim's lifestyle in her eco-friendly and frolic-packed tropical paradise.
for all the curiosity of seeing Foster in a rare comic rôle, her neurotic, tic-afflicted, accident-prone Alexandra annoys more than she engages, which is a problem for a character who contributes so little to the actual plot apart from diversion
There's nothing very suspenseful going on ... but the cast and the story will appeal to both kids and adults.
here is in fact no actual villain or conflict or tension or fun, and let's face it: we all know Jack will make it back safe and sound (sorry kids, but Wendy Or doesn't have JK Rowling's narrative cahoonas)
I found one vital piece of 'Nim's Island' to be ridiculous and the entirety to be only marginally successful.
Audience Reviews for Nim's Island
Super Reviewer
One of the biggest surprises in here is Jodie Foster's role which is clearly something different that we have used to see from her. I myself haven't seen her in a role this comedic never before and she is actually quite good as a kind of antihero of the story. She and Abigail Breslin are the film's heart while Gerald Butler is mostly in a lesser role here.
Sure, Nim's Island ain't nothing new or nothing that special but it is well made entertainment that actually manages to be exciting and in the end even quite touching. It is kinda film that kids and adults both are able to enjoy.
Super Reviewer
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Foreign Titles
- L'Île de Nim (FR)
- La isla de Nim (ES)
