Movie Review: 9 (2009)

9 (2009)

Now here’s a movie that really should’ve been excellent. It had a really original concept; it was based on an Oscar nominated short; it was helmed by the same director of that short; it was produced by some of Hollywood’s most creative elite; it had an impressive cast providing the character voices; and it had substantial momentum behind it. However, despite all of these assets, despite all of the buzz and hype, Shane Acker’s post-apocalyptic animated feature 9 is ultimately a disappointment.

9 attempts to tell the story about a collective of nine sentient “dolls” learning to survive in the aftermath of a world devastated by total war between man and machine. Needless to say, the machines won and the world is void of humanity (as far as we can tell). The film essentially begins with the awakening of #9 (the ninth and supposedly last doll to be created, voiced by Elijah Wood), who wastes no time in starting to decode the reasons for its existence. Almost immediately, #9 meets up with the wise #2 (Martin Landau), who only has a moment to update #9 before being captured by a larger more predatory robot made of metal and bone. #9 is eventually found by the primary collective of remaining dolls, which is led by the “god-fearing” #1 (Christopher Plummer). In an attempt to rescue #2, #9 awakens the machine boss, providing the dolls with a battle for survival for the remainder of the film. Think of the movie as an animated version of Virus (1999), set in the Desert of the Real from The Matrix (1999); just substitute the humans with dolls and pretty much keep the script the same, minus the philosophical debates…“Whoa!”

While a po-apo scenario is obviously nothing new, the concept of miniature self-aware non-human creations in a post human world seems quite interesting; however, none of that really matters as the film’s story is so poorly executed and themes so mismanaged. First of all, the film is too short; not that I wanted to keep watching it, but there was just no time for adequate character development. And that’s a problem because a film like this, with an otherwise unoriginal plot, needs to be more character driven to be successful. While the dolls are each meant to embody a shade of the human emotional spectrum, no soul comes through, and the characters remain as colorless as the world around them. This is the fault of a script that is both wooden and insufficient (in a too-much-or-not-enough kind of situation). There should have been more to it, or absolutely nothing at all (Acker’s original short had no dialogue whatsoever). The less-is-more dialogue approach has certainly worked in this vein before, just look at WALL·E (2008) and The Iron Giant (1999). It’s really no surprise then that 9’s most endearing characters are the two dolls that don’t speak (#3 and #4, who are effectively projectionist databanks). Despite all of this, the film’s true crime is in its botched story, where the various themes and philosophies contradict one another to the point of Matrix sequel pain (this is all fully realized in the film’s final quarter). Even if you don’t care about 9’s philosophical elements, you will still find the story’s resolution just plain stupid.

Visually, the film is fairly interesting, but certainly nothing revolutionary. Recently, we’ve come to expect certain visual triumphs from the animation powerhouses of Pixar and DreamWorks, and 9 can’t fully live up to that. The post apocalyptic landscape is sufficient, yet it doesn’t evoke the same sense of complete desolation that was so perfectly conveyed in WALL·E; indeed, 9 is quite claustrophobic, which would have been fine had the film not changed its philosophical course in its final third. The character design is quite original, but nothing mind-bending, which you would most certainly expect from something produced by Tim Burton. In fact, despite the initial resemblance to The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), 9 almost seems too straight for Burton fare, lacking that weird vibe that can only be described as Burton (and you all know exactly what I’m talking about). Still, the film might be too scary for little kinds and too frustrating for adults, which is most puzzling.

All in all, 9 really should have been excellent, and I find it difficult to believe that it wasn’t. It just proves that even if you have the right cooks and the right ingredients, the meal can still ultimately fail if the recipe sucks… voilà!

2.5/5

McS