Film: 9 (2009)

Note: Hey, I apologize for the relatively sober, sterile tone of my review. I'll swing back into Big Ads mode soon, I promise.

Film: 9

Year: 2009

Director: Shane Acker

Source: "Acquired"

Viewings: 1

Runtime: 87mins

Thoughts:

I haven't seen the short film that preceded the creation of 9. Comments of that sort will have to be held off, for now. What I can comment on is the film itself, which is the way it should be, I know. But every little thing you view adds to an experience. Anyways, onwards.

The film follows an Animatrix Renaissance Pt. 01 & 02 style vision, where we humans have created AI which has then gone on to gain sentience and destroy us all. Usual dystopian outlook. The difference comes about in the later dissection of the story, but that's spoiler territory.

So a few different dolls were created, each possessing a different personality and clothing style etc. Our main protagonist is a newly minted doll named 9 (Elijah Wood). As he begins to explore the ravaged world surrounding him, he learns of the existence of the first 8 dolls, voiced by such talents as John C. Reilly, Martin Landau, Crispin Glover, and more. What follows is a tale of spirit, endurance, cowardice, courage, loss and ultimately hope.

My first thoughts upon watching the film was the interesting look and feel of the film. Drab is what is meant to be relayed, and drab is what is received, in an almost steampunk or something style. The budget had to have been smaller than most productions, and at times it shows, such as the "skin" of each doll is just a texture map and not individual fibres, but that's just nit-picking, there's really no problem. The animation and style are comfortable and fit suitably.

Where the whole thing began to fall down was in the script. Such talent involved, and yet the whole thing feels lifeless, and the script is to blame. It seems to be very amateur, very standard, with not much weight in the dialogue, and most notably a lack of depth to the characters, which proves very jarring and uninvolving. Statements are made and resolutions sought, without much true feeling or pathos. There's a backstory to the characters, but of life and reason there is little.

Another thing I noticed was the constant sense of deja vu I experienced during the runtime. I was continually notching up the cliche's and plot developments that were hinted, played and sometimes completely torn from other films and stories. Star Wars, The Animatrix, and more that I can't remember (I watched this earlier last week) that, coupled with the lack of realism or depth to the characters, became slightly disappointing.

The direction is also a bit tame, reusing a lot of camera angles over and over; like the "monster isn't there, now it's right in the camera and roaring" shot. Admittedly, it's only occasionally a problem, but in the early parts of the film it is very evident.

Enough of the bad, the good! The fight scenes. Oh man, the fight scenes! On Blu-Ray, these would be devastating, like the Robo-Bird sequence, or the cannon sequence. 9 is jam packed with lots of electric action, and definitely delivers where a lot of other animated films fail. Blades slice, robots roar, machines clank and grumble, and we can enjoy it all.

The music and sound... I honestly can't remember.

Amanda commented on the dark feel of the film, and after learning of Tim Burton's presence was understanding. I mean, it was pretty good, but there just wasn't enough depth to truly be a great work to stand up alongside others.

In Ads' Nutshell: 9 is a short, dark action-filled journey through a dystopian earth, let down by occasionally amateurish direction and constant lackluster scriptwork.

Would he Blu it?: As a $20 blockbuster ex-rental, sure.

Score: 3/5.