MOVIE REVIEW: “9”
“9”
Director: Shane Acker
Screenplay: Pamela Pettler
TRT: 79 minutes (PG-13) For violence and scary images
Cast (voices)
With the voices of:
No. 9 Elijah Wood
No. 5 John C. Reilly
No. 7 Jennifer Connelly
No. 1 Christopher Plummer
No. 6 Crispin Glover
No. 2 Martin Landau
No. 8 Fred Tatasciore
Peacock Feathers (4 out of 5)
By Marcus Thorpe:
“9” gives the audience an eyeful, in one of the most visually detailed, interesting, uniquely shot films in a decade.
Film makers have long painted a visual picture of the end of the world. It happens with bombs, explosions, masses of people wiped out, only one person left, and of course alien takeovers. In the new film “9” its man vs machine, they wipe each other out and the only thing left, not cockroaches, but instead hand woven creatures with a mind of their own.
What started as an Oscar nominated short, Shane Acker sits in the director’s chair for a 79 minute feature film weaving through the highs and lows of 9 hand crafted creatures trying to survive in a world that hasn’t. The story of “9” starts with a simple concept: “The world is ours, it’s what we make of it.“ And what a mess man and machine made. Both flexed the muscle that eventually brought the world to its knees. No man made it through, it appears no machine did either.
Our first look into the mind of Acker comes from the blinking binocular eyes of a creation of some sort. The title character “9” is handmade by a creative genius that didn’t make it through the war. As “9” makes its way out of the scientists lab, he quickly comes to find he is not alone, meeting another numbered character that looks nearly like him, helps him find his voice, gives him hope that there is more than meets the eye. And is he right, they are not alone, they are being hunted by “The Beast”. A steel trap, machete jawed machine that has a terminator like red eye, and a hunger to hunt and find the key piece that will bring machines back to life. After run-in’s with the Beast, 9 finds out there are more numbers stacking up that present help and challenges.
Visually this film takes the CGI (computer generated images) effect to a new level. The detail is simply mind-blowing. The innovation to not only give you an inside look at what these creatures are made of, but to give them a maze of scenes to navigate, and quirks that separate them to the audience without having to see the number on their back. The subject matter is darker than you might imagine. Was I scared during some scenes? No. Do I think some young teens and pre-teens especially might have a tougher time saying no? I would guess the answer to that is yes. But, as one of the characters says to another, “you just forget to be scared”, and I think younger audience members might be able to do that thanks to the eye candy and lighter moments. “9” does have some Tim Burton (credited as a producer) in it. In the same way that “A Nightmare Before Christmas” brought a new twist to a holiday film, this story and look brings a new feel to animation.
There are some flaws as the film movies through the midway point. The script starts to feel a little like an animated form of Lord of the Rings. The creatures have an obvious burden on their shoulders, want to get to a evil-doers lair, and must avoid obvious temptations and pitfalls along the way. The characters are interesting, but their personalities almost get lost in the action sequences and aren’t developed too far past face value.
Animated director’s have the unique ability to have a smash hit without putting together a good film. Mom’s and Dad’s have to go to films with their children. Many times, making even a bad movie like “G Force” the number one film in the country. When a director takes great pride in giving audiences more than “poop in his hand” jokes, you get a film like “9”. And while end of the world as we know it might not sound great, at least it will be visually amazing if the creatures from “9” are the only thing left!
MT
Want to see movies where I do? Get showtimes for the Arena Grand Theatre at http://www.arendagrand.com
What do you think: On a scale of 1-10 where does “9” rate for you? Leave your comments below!
Posted by
on 09/13 at 11:29 AM
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