Various other minuses for the uninitiated -- the changing powers of the cards, the intricate strategies of the participants, the almost-lethal nature of gameplay -- are great pluses for aficionados.
Yu-Gi-Oh: The Movie (2004)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:60
Fresh:3
Rotten:57
Average Rating:3.1/10
Consensus: Don't watch the TV show or play the card game? Then this movie is not for you.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for scary combat and monster images
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release:Aug 13, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $19,742,947
Synopsis: The plot concerns teenage gaming wizard Yugi Muto (vocalized by Dan Stuart) who, having merged forces with an Egyptian pharaoh since he solved his grandfather's cosmic puzzle, now rules the... The plot concerns teenage gaming wizard Yugi Muto (vocalized by Dan Stuart) who, having merged forces with an Egyptian pharaoh since he solved his grandfather's cosmic puzzle, now rules the universe as the king of "Duel Monsters" card players. Meanwhile the evil Egyptian god Annubis has been wakened from centuries of sleep and is slipping hot cards to Yugi's arch rival Kaiba (Eric Stuart) in an underhanded bid to destroy the earth. Robots, knights, sphinxes, a plethora of different dragons, wizards, cute girls, and even clowns get in on the act--appearing, battling, merging, exploding, and dissolving as the labyrinthine rules of the game dictate. Some expository encapsulations are provided for the newcomer, which is good, as fans will be too busy cheering at all the monsters, explosions, bodily humor, strategizing, and teasing put-downs to explain the finer points of the dueling system. The film also serves as an unveiling of several important cards no serious player can afford to be without. Some of the flashing light effects and monster-style violence may be a bit much for very young and/or epileptic viewers. [More]
Starring: Dan Green, Wayne Grayson, Eric Stuart, Darren Dunstan
Starring: Dan Green, Wayne Grayson, Eric Stuart, Darren Dunstan
Director: Ryusoke Takahashi
Director: Ryusoke Takahashi
Producer: Norman J. Grossfield
Composer: Gil Talmi
Studio: Warner Bros.
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Release:
Nov 16, 2004
Reviews for Yu-Gi-Oh: The Movie
The imagination and audacity behind the game are wildly fascinating, and the same is true of the movie.
Like Harry Potter, Shrek and Spider-Man, it will become part of the currency of grade and middle school conversation.
No doubt its small fans are thrilled, but even young kids will have to be pretty undemanding to enjoy this mess.
Like the gods, the trading cards are capricious, with ever-changing rules and strategies so intricate that only Yu-Gi-Ohlogists will fully enjoy this adventure.
While this probably constitutes a good tutorial in the trading-card game's lingo and lore, it's tremendously boring to watch an animated series in which most of the fighting doesn't even involve combat, just characters looking at cards.
I suspect even children will be sophisticated enough to understand that a film should feel more alive than a trading card.
the characters are thinly sketched; and the sense of adventure is mediocre at best
I sacrificed 90 minutes of my life points to sit through this and nothing I can summon is going to make up for that.
Toward the movie’s climax, the characters start spewing clichéd drivel about the power of friendship, lines that will make all but the youngest viewers shudder.
Although the movie isn't bad, wouldn't kids probably have a better time playing Yu-Gi-Oh themselves than watching others play it, cartoonically?
Feature-length animated movie based on the television series, and Manga comic book of the same name, is like watching a Japanese video game being played on a movie screen.
With Yu-Gi-Oh!, a Japanese animated film, the line between entertainment and advertising has been emphatically erased.
The film is simply part of a synergized income stream, more deft revenge upon us for having won World War II.
A feature-length promotion for the trading cards your kids will beg you to buy all the way home.
Watching it is vaguely like watching someone explain how to play poker when you have never played it and in fact have no intention of ever playing it.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 77% 77% | The Hangover |
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 24% 24% | G-Force |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 82% 82% | Paranormal Activity |
| 58% 58% | 9 |
| 44% 44% | Jennifer's Body |
| 58% 58% | A Perfect Getaway |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Yu-Gi-Oh: The Movie at Rotten Tomatoes
- Yu-Gi-Oh: The Movie at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!



Top Critic



