When our world ended, their mission began
The first time I came across 9 was from the trailer (bottom of page). You can take an instant liking to it from the visuals which are brilliant and I found myself getting sucked in when the name of Tim Burton pops up, even though it is just as a producer.
The actual director is Shane Aker, an unknown who had the backing of Tim Burton, the mad genius behind Edward scissorhands…..Beetlejuice and Nightmare before Christmas….This I have to see!
The story follows a group of sack-dolls created by a scientist who gives up his soul in order to save the world from machines that have taken over. There are 9 sack-dolls all numbered 1-9, visually very pleasing to the eye and fun to watch although I feel they do look rather odd. I love the detail that can be observed on these cuddly creatures, the weaved material (mimicking skin) stretches and relaxes on their face to give human like facial expressions really caught my eye.
The post apocalyptic city is crafted with great balance of beauty and danger. The dark intense colours reeking of death and the end of the world, somehow manage to capture the imagination and make you feel blessed to be able to see the beauty of a world no longer consumed by anything living.
The major flaw to all this visual beauty is the story. The movie is packed full of action which is great to see but as far as the story goes this is beyond cliché. Mankind needs saving from machines that have taken over the world? I hope it’s not just me who is reminded of Terminator by this. Clocking in just short of 80 minutes, I spent 70 of those minutes associating this animation to Terminator. To me it almost feels like an animated adaptation that is an add-on to the Terminator series, the same way The Animatrix is to the Matrix.
The clichés continue through the characters with 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood) being the hero who shows the group not to fear and to fight, 1 (Christopher Plummer) is the old leader who just wants to run and hide from the danger till it passes and the independent female hero 7 (Jennifer Connelly), who can do all.
There are clear holes in this story and when the end is reached you are not given all the answers, instead you sit pondering if it was worth killing off the machines?
This action packed dark movie has no comedy and is definitely targeting an older audience, so not one for the kids. At the same times with such errors in story telling and lack of depth in both story and characters, this never appeals to the mature audience. It is a shame as this animation clearly has potential, the movie makers just need to choose a target audience first and not try pleasing all groups.
The deeper meaning of this animation is one that has been done time and time again, what happens when all this cutting edge technology is used against us….. or more obviously, when machines make their own decisions. Whether you think of Terminator, I robot, A.I or the many others, to me it becomes clearer and clearer every day…… Hollywood has ran out of ideas. When will the re-makes or adaptation of comics/novels stop…. Can someone please think of some new material….PRETTY PLEASE?
On a final note, 9 is visually stunning and if you try to just avoid thinking about the story too much it will more then pleasure your senses, however this critic finds it hard to ignore the flaws of simple story telling.
With the release of ‘Up’ this month (9th October), even though I have yet to see it…….if you’re looking for good animation, Disney/Pixar very rarely disappoint.
Starring: Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly
Director: Shane Acker
Rating: 2/5
UK Release date: 28th October
Bilal Mohyuddin (BFM)