9 (Focus Features)
Rated PG-13 for violence and scary images.
Starring (voices) Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Oppenheimer.
Written by Pamela Pettler and Shane Acker.
Directed by Shane Acker.
GRADE: B+
REVIEWThe "wow" factor in computer-generated animation keeps slipping away. Ever since Pixar's
Toy Story (1995) hit the screens, several imaginative groups and individuals have improved on the genre. Some of them have reached beyond kid fare, but most have been G or PG-rated family fodder. 2007's
Beowulf went further to create a more adult-themed computer animated film, but while heavy on the trappings of grown-up vice, the fable did little to cultivate abstract thought or philosophy. Today (9.9.09) marks the release of
9, a computer-animated feature about a post-apocalyptic world where machines fight for dominance over a few, small, robot like humanoids who measure only a few inches tall. The full length feature is based on director/writer Shane Acker's short film of the same title nominated for an Oscar in 2005.
Elijah Wood voices 9, the small humanoid created by a human inventor before the Apocalypse. The inventor created others he named with corresponding numbers (1,2,3,4, etc.) before the machines developed artificial intelligence and destroyed all of humanity. The small living creatures are really robots housed in sewn-together fabric, with camera-iris eyes and other mechanical parts. Aside from being robots, these creatures have feelings, voices, and the will to survive.
The story begins as 9 wakes from what seems like a dream in a world where all the humans are dead and the landscape is desolate. 9 is soon found by 2 (Martin Landau) who is then captured and carried away by a spider-like machine. 9 finds the lair of the other small humanoids, including 1 (Christopher Plummer), 5 (John C. Reilly), 8 (Fred Tatasciore), 6 (Crispin Glover) and a few others who have decided to hide rather than fight the machines.
9 immediately rocks the boat and tries to convince the others to rescue the captured 2. He eventually convinces 5, and the two go to the machine's headquarters to save their friend. When they get there, they meet up with 7, a female humanoid who has learned to fight an survive in her own. When 9 mistakenly inserts a symbol-etched disc onto a huge cyclops machine robot, the mechanical behemoth begins to kill the little humanoids by zapping their eyes with a bolt of electricity and draining them of all life.
As 9 and the remaining survivors return to 1's lair (ironically located inside a burned out church), the group is left to decide whether it's better to keep hiding or stand and fight the machines.
The conclusion in the movie arrives as the humanoids discover the spiritual source of their own lives and they are left to decide what they will do with the world in their control.
9 is a pretty good film with some profound things to say about humanity, but it's the visual elements and imagery that stand out. It's good to see that some computer animators are not content to make mindless kid movies and have dared to venture out into more avant-garde films for adults. For a while, it seemed like computer animators were content to show off their cinematic toy without creating too much deep thought or experimenting with new artistic images.
Make no mistake,
9 is not for kids, with plenty of jump-out-of-your-seat scary and loud moments, mostly involving vicious robotic machines with single red eyes. The post-apocalyptic themes are also very dark, with dead bodies, violent images and sad outcomes.
9 is also heavy on the existentialism, which will most likely escape the pre-teen crowd.
