Characters Undefined in Visually Rapturous 9
Based on his own 2005 Academy Award-nominated animated short film, director Shane Acker’s 9 is a darkly imaginative post-apocalyptic thriller that is visually astonishing, viscerally exciting and disappointingly short on character and story development. While its 79-minute running time passes quickly, and while the admittedly somewhat cheesy finale broke my heart, the simple fact is that this movie impresses more as a technical achievement than it does as anything else.
9 (voiced by Elijah Wood) faces off against The Great Machine in Focus Features' 9
Set in a world devastated by war, a group of strange, diminutive, hand-stitched creatures struggle to survive while under almost constant siege by horrific mechanical beings apparently bent on their annihilation. Given numbers instead of names, things begin to change when a newcomer, 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood), appears out of the wasteland looking to help.
Protected by the resilient and stalwart 2 (voiced by Martin Landau), befriended by the affable and good-humored 5 (voiced by John C. Reilly) and feared by the Machiavellian and overprotective 1 (voiced by Christopher Plummer), 9 speaks his mind and shows a curiosity most of his companions lack. But discovering the truth comes with a heavy price, and after he accidentally awakens a monstrous, long-dormant machine apparently responsible for wiping out all of humanity it falls to him to solve the riddles left by the creator and free the planet from its malevolent, soul-sucking presence.
9 begins magnificently. Acker’s early glimpses of the world created by him and his screenwriter Pamela Pettler (Monster House) is beyond spectacular. No detail is too insignificant, everything on the screen popping with an invigorating electricity that boggles the mind. The animators pull out all the stops, the main character’s first clueless and questioning steps into this demolished netherworld of shrapnel and desolation eerie and suspenseful.
Unfortunately, even though much of what happens next is well-staged and breathlessly exciting, the movie devolves into a series of seemingly endless confrontations and escapes which ultimately grow wearisome. Characterization isn’t given the nurturing it deserves, new heroes like 7 (voiced Jennifer Connelly) so speedily introduced they’re never given the opportunity to evolve and grow. While I appreciate the fact Acker wants to keep up the pace and not draw his scenes out any longer than necessary, the hows and whys are sadly disregarded in order for him to keep things humming along like an out of control rollercoaster.
Still, the level of creativity here is positively impressive, while some of the vocal work (most notably by Reilly and Plummer) so surpasses what’s in the script it elevates things to a level they’d never have gotten to otherwise. And while some of the action sequences can’t help but feel a bit repetitive, some of them (like an early battle between 2 and a cat-like creature or the group’s second act escape from a malicious flying machine) are so marvelous I almost didn’t want them to end.
I was also completely devastated by the emotional nuances of the climax. While a little maudlin and melodramatic, Acker nonetheless handles these penultimate scenes with an assured grace that hit me like an arrow to the heart. Even though I knew better I almost couldn’t help but begin to cry, and by the time the film was over the amount of tears I shed felt like they could have filled an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
Be all that as it may, the lack of character development and cohesive storytelling does hurt Acker’s debut quite a bit. This is a movie I find myself wanting to love and embrace, but thanks to these regrettable slipups I just can’t do it. What I can do is say that 9 is a visual marvel filled with numerous delights hinting at a budding greatness on the part of its creator to come, and like a rose struggling to bloom in the middle of a disaster zone this is one animated spectacle where I find heavenly hope amidst the irritating chaos.
- Review reprinted courtesy of the SGN in Seattle
Film Rating: êê1/2 (out of 4)
Additional Links
- "9" Short Film directed by Shane Acker
- 9 Theatrical Trailer
