The film “9” is the story of nine puppets given the soul of a scientist to help defeat the evil that ended our world as we know it.
The film has the action of “Terminator,” but instead of robots there’s dolls. The expressions they all give evoke the same sense as “Wall-E” in that they appear more human than the humans in the movie.
This isn’t a movie that tries to pretend it has a deep profound story, because it doesn’t need to. The visuals are the story; they are what makes this worth seeing.
The characters are all archetypes in what an audience would expect to see but they are also part of the same “creator,” so there is a strength and weakness to each of them.
The delight in watching this movie is the audio-visual rush it gives. The action is staged better than most live action movies (Michael Bay could learn a thing or two).
The art design is unlike anything I’ve seen. There are bits and pieces of everything from “Wall-E” to “Terminator” to the “Chancellor” and his huge red banners that adorn everything before the revolution.
The sound was loud and precise. For those worried that all animated movies have to feature obnoxious characters who spout lame catchphrases, characters speak when the movie requires it and let the adventure speak for itself.
The plot is almost unfortunately unoriginal. The characters don’t have much time to develop, so it’s not a big loss to see some of them go.
The movie isn’t character driven, which many people may expect from an animated film. The overall execution of the film may remind some of “Wall-E” and Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” which both told much of the story through visuals.
Director Shane Acker brings the viewer’s in with visuals of the film. With the help of visionary filmmakers Tim Burton (“Batman” and “Batman Returns”) and Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted”), Acker produces a stunning work that is much darker in tone but no less worth watching.
It won’t leave audiences thinking, but I doubt few people will say they didn’t enjoy it. This film maybe animated but it isn’t a children’s film.
Like most, this film isn’t an original plot, but what make this film worth seeing is the spectacular visuals and the animated action.
