User reviews

Well, I saw the commercials and they made it seem like "Ben Ten Race Against Time" would have potential. I saw the Ben Ten movie that CN made prior to Against Time, which was "Mystery of the Omnitrix" or something to that extent. Mystery of the Omnitrix was very good, and in many ways touching... so I figured that Against Time would be worth a watch.

The effects were good... for a TV movie. It was very hard for me to turn the channel as I sat through the attempt at effects and poor attempt at the actors trying to interact with the CG aliens. I had to keep reminding myself "TV MOVIE TV MOVIE TV MOVIE"

Another thing I had a problem with was the fact that only a few months before Cartoon Network released "Mystery of the Omnitrix" as a TV movie, and it was animated. Then they release a live action Ben Ten? What will the third movie be? I think that was a poor consistency move on not only Cartoon Network but also the producers of the Ben Ten series.

Another reason EXTREME fans might not enjoy this movie is the choice of actor for Grandpa Max. In the cartoon Grandpa Max is sort of large... whereas in the live action the character is lean with a beard, and is more of a stereotypical Midwestern grandfather. I, who again was reminding myself "TV MOVIE", was open to this.

I did like the actor for Eon. His acting was, in my opinion, above standards for the others in the movie... especially the parents, who as I gathered were supposed to be trying to be way too accepting or something. I dunno the aim of the two were sort of lost on me.

I give this movie a 4/10... just because I think CN bit off more than it could chew, and this type of movie should have been reserved for theaters where special effects could have been better.

Talk about a clunker of a movie. I've never seen more stiff actors in my life. Or should I say, no acting. Pathetic representation of a truly top notch cartoon/anime. This movie does nothing to keep with the spirit of the characters. I lifeless bunch of hacks. Ben Tennyson is supposed to be 10 years old, not to mention pretty darn athletic on the skate board, bike, climbing, what-not. This kid plays him like a second rate goof ball.

The characters Don't even match the physical likeness of the cartoon characters. Not unless Ben grew a foot over night. Ben is supposed to be younger and much shorter then Gwen. In the movie he looks to be older and is about 3 inches taller. As for Lee Majors, what a crappy representation of Grandpa. Looks like he's half crippled from arthritis the entire time. And what gives with the beard? Whatever happened to Gwen's "charm" magic? What happened to Grandpa being able to handle himself in a fight? Lee Majors played grandpa like, well, an old grandpa.

The fight scenes were right out 60's era B movies. Looks like everyone wanted to make sure the "kids" didn't get hurt.

I really could go on and on, but, I think you get the point. For all the build up, this movie was a BAD

I am a HUGE fan of the Ben 10 series, and I also consider myself a fairly open-minded viewer. But this movie was just plain AWFUL! I grew up in the generation of kids that sat transfixed by shows like the multi-nauseating Power Ranger franchise, and I have to say, this movie's return to that style of filming was NOT for the better. Their multiple-level diffusion from the shows many aspects of continuity also didn't help.

1) They selected a completely separate realm of voice actors for the aliens, none of which sounded in any manner like the voices we became used to in the cartoon. Would it have been such a hard thing to have requested the same people to voice the aliens in the movie? 2) What the hell was up with the break up of character continuity with Ben's parents? In the series, his dad was an ENGINEER for Christ's sake, who the hell is this hippie-dippy jackass?! And his mother, not that she was ever broached in the series (to my knowledge), jeez could you have made her any less likable? 3) The fight scenes with Eon's endless supply of disposable enemy drones was TERRIBLY CHOREOGRAPHED! Scene shots that center on them leaping through the air in over-dramatized jumping attacks, their grasp of "movie-style jujitsu", the only thing that Power Rangers had that Ben 10 didn't was lame spaghetti-western style impact sounds (biff, whack, thud, zap).

4) Huh . . . nice how they cautiously avoided any of the more popular alien forms.

5) Lee frigging Majors . . . dammit. I like Lee Majors, don't get me wrong, but why the hell would anyone think he would make a passable Grandpa Max Tennyson? Max is supposed to be a paunchy, easy to smile, almost Santa Clause like man (as proved by Mister Jingles). Lee Majors is a grizzled, emotional cut-off. Why not have him played by Adam West or William Shatner, if you wanted an 'Out of work' old man who couldn't act like anything but a worn old action hero? The only reason lee Majors was even used was because of the response that his name would incite, because you don't have to know who Lee Majors is, to have that subliminal "ping" in the back of your head tell you that he's been in TV for eons.

I was so disappointed when I saw this movie; I'd been so excited when they started showing teasers months in advance, but this was one of those movies that was hyped up and couldn't stand under the weight of its director's over-zealous self-promotion.

To the director: Step Down, turn in your megaphone, and the next time you consider taking on the task of bringing an animated series into the real world, try asking someone who isn't a frigging idiot what would make the movie really good. Your kiss-up writers suck. Better to pass on the 'Happy Ending' massage and hire a GOOD writer, and poll your audience to see what they do and do not like about the series.

And just in case I hadn't made myself clear. This movie, DO NOT LIKE!

Okay, I didn't like the show that much, mainly because I don't have the time to really watch it, but I was so excited to see the movie, because I want to be an animator (hopefully special FX guy) and so I wanted to see the action happen. Well, I was kinda out of luck on that part. Let's see, the characters didn't match up with the original, the kid playing Ben was perfect, but Gwen looked SOOOO fake. And Grandpa... wow, simply amazing on how he doesn't look like of the original. The acting was just as bad as Re-Animated, I mean, seriously (wait, this was worse), and the heroes looked fake as crap. The furry monster looked like he had been put on paper, cut out, and just pasted on a film. Could they have done any worse? Wait, don't answer that.

The script could have been improved SO much. The ideas are so over-used, and the humor... well, there wasn't any. And like the part of Zoom, when something SO amazing happens, like when a monster turns into a little boy, the crowd just goes "ahhhhh....", instead of "AAAHHHH...", they just look like its normal.

1/10

OK let's get one thing straight, this movie should be banned. No I'm not joking, the monster graphics in this movie was so bad that in the movie I thought Wild-mutt was a giant orange with legs. You could clearly see some of the effects are fake I mean come on put a little no wait forget that last part put a LOT of of effort in. Crap, crap and more crap. Bad ending, the actors were butt-ugly freaks. THEY should have been the monsters, it would be scarier. I thin 1/10 is far too good a rating for this movie, it had bad effects and a stupid bad guy. I mean I hardly watch the TV series Ben 10 because I'm older but my younger brother watches it and tells me that this squid-head called Vilgax was the bad guy so why not make him the bad guy in the movie. Screwed up piece of crap this movie is

The acting is flat... For a movie you'd expect to be esoteric, they explain things from the TV show...

The actors' representations of the cartoon characters are poor and don't live up to the voice actors' renditions.

Ben, as a character, apparently forgets all the character development he had during the summer.

Gwen was there, but the fire in her character was a 2 while the cartoon version's is a 5.

The grandpa didn't have the energy of the grandpa in the cartoon.

Effects were okay, but it seemed more like a bloated Power Rangers episode.

The alien animations were good.

Not bad but a bit boring, acting modest, influencers good I don't have much to say it's a TV movie

I PAID MOENY FOR THIS!!!! WHY IN GODS NAME DID I PAY MOENY FOR THIS!!!!!!!

Okay first of all it starts off okay but the fight sequences where a bit too power rangers, then the plot comes along, which was poorly written especially at the end, where they seem to abandon all logic, really I've defended some bad movies, but wow, at least the original series seemed to have a bit more in the characters, and the feeling that there was something bigger going on, this one was.... i'm not sure how to explain it, and no this isn't supposed to be an in depth review but mostly just me letting out my shock at how utterly BAD this movie was, and if the rumor i heard about a 5 million dollar budget is true, I'm in shock, its one hour and 7 minutes of wasted time, except for a couple of entertaining character, namely the principal and the oriental plumber, who's name i cannot remember right now, there have been WONDROUS movies made for only a few hundred thousand dollars, the fact someone thinks this movie wasn't bad for one with ONLY 5 mill has sad illusions about film-making, truly, i cannot believe this, even my 12 year old SISTER was disgusted by this movie, the original series was compelling and interesting, this started with about half that, but i was still going to give it a chance, but by the end, when the acting and plot just abandoned most everything that had been set up.... grrrrrrr..... I Just CANT Believe THIS, i have defended many movies that people have claimed where bad, even Alone in the dark (not great, but okay, there have been worse movies, trust me I've seen them)... BUT WOW.... I PAID MONEY for this and TRULY feel betrayed here..... normally i don't mind it.... but wow i LOVE the animated series, this....... i don't know what to call it... ruins that... *sighs* Okay rants done.

Well to put it all together it was an amazing movie. yes it was a b rate movie but it was still a very good movie.

Acting- Very good all the actors acted there parts and at the same time put there own characteristics into them.

Story- Good story, nice script.

CGI- i wont lie could have been a bit better but in the end very good for this film and for the budget.

Music- Amazing fit every sequence of this film. Even the redone punk version of the theme song was AMAZING!!!!

Very Good Movie Overall,Children Will Love It. Im 18 and i loved it.

I think the movie was pretty good for cartoon network budget. Other TV movies are far worse than this one is said to be. The acting is just as good as any Disney or NICK live action show. It was just as good as saved by the bell. Not like anyone was expecting emmys or anything for this. I watched it with my kids who were greatly entertained. A 6 year old and an 8 year old. They liked it and watched it twice. So apparently the movie did its job and entertained kids and helped fuel the imagination. Let's face it, if you are 15 or older and still watching cartoons and complaining about them, you need a life or you have found yourself getting older and should try some other entertainment other than cartoons.

Obviously the film is awful since it is essentially a TV-movie. The cgi in this film is watchable, but what is not watchable is everything else in Alex Winter's cartoon network flick. The acting of the main protagonists of Ben 10 and Gwen must put up with awful dialogue, and not helping by giving that dialogue an awful delivery. The best thing about this film is it's overall charm. Your child will love it since they are seeing their heroes come to life. Adults will either hate it or just find it very boring as nothing happens for a long time in this film, but children who grew up on the original Ben 10 series will truly consider this disaster flick; a masterpiece.

I am definitely far older than the average age demography of fans for the 'Ben 10' fandom but I do enjoy watching a kiddie flick on occasion. These films serve as good background noise if I'm also reading or on the computer and often have plots that don't require much investment and, as such, can be relaxing. 'Ben 10: Race Against Time' certainly qualifies as one such film that fits the profile. This film centres around twelve-year-old Ben Tennyson, who has the ability to turn into various alien forms for up to ten minutes at a time with the aid of his Omnitrix. After a summer of fighting aliens and saving the planet alongside his grandfather Max and his twelve-year-old cousin Gwen, Ben is now struggling with the normality of school. However, it seems the excitement is not over when a mysterious villain stalks Ben and is intent on possessing the Omnitrix for himself.

I am not in the least familiar with 'Ben 10' so cannot really comment on how faithful this live-action film is to cartoon show and only on what I saw as an unbiased source! In terms of the actors, I thought Graham Phillips and Haley Ramm did a reasonable job in their respective roles as Ben and Gwen, depicting the characters in a realistic age-appropriate manner (although if Ben and Gwen meant to be only ten then they were a shade too old). Ben was prone to showing off, could be moody yet was brave and determined to protect those around him while Gwen was slightly more mature and equally as loyal but could be impatient and snippy, which is exactly how I see children of their age acting. In fact, it was actually refreshing to see children acting like children instead of mini teenagers (not one hint of teeny-bopper romance!) or cool, collected little adults who have the answer to everything. Lee Majors played the role of Max Tennyson, the steadfast and loving grandfather to the cousins, and he was effective as the character without over-shadowing the two child actors since this was more their show.

In terms of negative aspects to the film, the CGI was terrible but I don't think you can expect multi-million pound Hollywood standards in a made-for-TV film for kids. There also seemed to be something wrong with Ben's parents since they acted like flaky, clueless freaks who had escaped from a Sixties hippie commune. It would have been more interesting to see them as normal, concerned parents who know there is something important going on in their son's life. And where were Gwen's parents since she seemed to just wander around like an orphan (which perhaps she is in the show) with no mention of them? It would also have been a nice addition to Gwen's character had she done a bit more in terms of the fighting.

Overall, 'Ben 10: Race Against Time' is not going to win any Oscars nor is it a remake of 'The Godfather' or 'Citizen Kane' but it is an entertaining enough flick, especially for younger kids who like plenty of action and characters they can root for. It also isn't terrible enough that any adult, who has to watch it with their children or young siblings (or as background noise!), will feel the need to poke their eyes out.

When I watched this film, well, before, I thought this was going to be a immature, boring film for little kids. I'd love to say I'm wrong, but sadly, no. The script was terrible, acting very, very poor, and it seems EVERYTHING in the movie sucks. The music, out of all the parts of the movie, was the best. And the music is just OK. The Ben 10 team could have made something better, and I watched the film with very low expectations. Any lower than that, I'd be dead. The movie did not live up to my expectations. I wasn't expecting a Die Hard, just expecting a low rate film. I was 100 percent right!Out of all the movies playing on TV, I ended up watching this. If you want to see a movie based on a TV show, go watch Transformers.

I think the movie was pretty good for cartoon network budget. Other TV movies are far worse than this one is said to be. The acting is just as good as any Disney or NICK live action show. It was just as good as saved by the bell. Not like anyone was expecting Emmy's or anything for this. I watched it with my kids who were greatly entertained. A 6 year old and an 8 year old. They liked it and watched it twice. So apparently the movie did its job and entertained kids and helped fuel the imagination. Let's face it, if you are 15 or older and still watching cartoons and complaining about them, you need a life or you have found yourself getting older and should try some other entertainment other than cartoons

The film: It was crap. Not much else to say that other reviewers haven't... The effects were crap. The acting was crap. The story was crap. The lack of continuity was crap.

The TV Series: It was fun. Interesting villains, like Dr. Animo or Vilgax, were entertaining to watch (Animo's voice is awesome!). The aliens: Heatblast, Grey Matter, Wildmutt, Diamondhead, Cannonbolt, Fourarms, Upgrade, Ghostfreak, Way Big, Eye Guy, XLR8, Stinkfly, Ripjaws, Wildvine, Benwolf, Benmummy, Benviktor, Upchuck, & Ditto were all interesting, exciting and original, fun for the audience to watch. The animation was good, the stories were good. Okay, it could be a little bit 'kiddy' but, nonetheless, it was a fun show with fun characters, interesting ideas and a great execution make one heck of a good sci-fi animated kid's show.

In comparison: The TV series was fun, with original ideas and entertaining stories, but the film was unintelligible drivel, and just plain crap.

You've watched the show, it's Ben 10 in his first live action movie from cartoon network! In this movie i thought that the plot was pretty good, the acting was kinda cheesy in parts, the music rocked, and the aliens (some of them) were awesome! on the aliens part they weren't really all that bad. Heatblast was a little short looking and his moves were not really captured the greatest, but the flames on him were sweet. Greymatter was captured just like the show, except for his voice which sounded like some crazy malevolent villain. Why couldn't they have just used the voices in the show? Diamondhead was personally my favorite in the movie! He was shown perfectly from the show, and talked like him too. The radiant crystal glow thing on him was the coolest! Lastly, Wildmutt was really cool looking when he was fighting, but up next to another character looked like kinda bad graphics. Though overall I liked it! I just hope they will include the other 6 aliens out of the original ten if they make a sequel to it.

The good- Ben 10's aliens looked cool, especially Wildmutt. Eon is an OK villain. I'm glad that I got to see the P.L.U.M.B.E.R.S. The action was pretty good. I'm glad that I got to see the aliens in live-action.

The bad-Grandpa Max does not look close to how he looked in the series. Gwen didn't have any magical powers. There was no villain from the series. Without the commercials, it is only a little bit over an hour. I would have liked to see more aliens. I wish that it didn't take so long for the movie to air. I waited for like two months to see it. I was kind of impressed with the movie. I would have liked Eon's henchman to not look like Power Rangers villains.

I am ashamed to say that I am a big Ben 10 fan..(at the tender age of 40)...lol.....I DVR'd this move in great anticipation, after watching the secret of the omnitrix, and watching almost every episode of ben 10 and ben 10 alien force, with my 10 year old daughter...We enjoy the rest of the genre, my little girl is a big "Gwen" fan. As for the live action version ...egads!!...Thats 15 minutes I will never get back, good thing I didn't have a brick to bang my head with, I would have need stitches. I don't blame the actors, even lee majors for this groaner, I blame the idjits who produced and wrote the nasty blend of power ranger/ ben 10/ and "hey what can I do with my new video editing program......You could clog the arteries of an army with the cheese of this so called movie.....My little girl even told me "Dad ...that was stupid"...and she likes hello kitty....to put it in perspective...blahhh......riff

I loved it ben 10 was at its best during these years it was funny with the ice cream and the teachers the talent show ben and Gwen were at their best the struggle between ben and his parents was done well so I give it an 8 out of 10 enjoy it you should give it a shot the CG is pretty good