Director: Shane Acker Starring: voices of Elijah Wood, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly Running Time: 1 hour, 19 minutes Theatrical Release: September 9, 2009 Shop for 9 Merchandise

Plot Summary

“9″ stars Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer and Crispin Glover and features the music of Danny Elfman. When “9″ (”The Lord of the Ring’s” Elijah Wood) first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. All humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them. (from MovieWeb.com)

Film Review

9 is a feature film born out of director Shane Acker’s 2005 student award-winning animated short by the same title. Acker’s 9 caught the attention of one Tim Burton and, along with Timur Bekmambetov, produced the big screen version of Acker’s post-apocalyptic tale. As such, it should not come as a surprise that the gorgeously morbid visual backdrop for the film is quite easily its most outstanding quality. Within this “steampunk” style adventure, you will immediately immerse yourself in the desolate world in which main character, 9, awakens after being “breathed” to life by a scientist.

Show Spoiler »

I truly appreciated the distinct “ragdoll” look of 9 himself and the other characters he met along the way. Although they all look the same — aside from certain differentiating quirks — and do not have actual names (the beings are just numbered 1 through 9), I found myself heavily connected to the feelings of each individual as the story unfolded. With each moment of peril, more and more of each characters’ traits are revealed in a logical format.

Which leads me to the actual story content. The formula may have been just a bit too logical. Streamlined. Certainly not the type of straight-laced yarn I would have expected from a film with such unique and powerful visual charm. I spent most of my time viewing the movie just waiting for that one moment…a signature moment in the film which would suck me in beyond visual-appeal alone. Unfortunately, for me, this never happened.

Regarding content for children, parents, just keep in mind that 9 is rated PG-13. The film features a dark and gritty atmosphere in which several potentially frightening monsters prowl. However, use your judgement based on what your children usually watch. 9 is the same type of fare offered up by titles such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline. So if those movies currently reside in your media library, then by all means, 9 will be a welcome addition for the family.

Overall, 9 is a title that shouldn’t be missed. Especially by those who appreciate the darker side of animation as opposed to standard bright and splashy family entertainment. As mentioned, the visuals absolutely carry this film, and in a rarity, those merits alone make 9 a worthy flick. If the story were a bit more compelling, this would be a no-doubt-about-it classic.