Reviews
9
October 30 2009
Shane Acker
Starring Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer
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Just what, exactly, does it take to make a ‘visionary’ these days? For 9 director Shane Acker a pair of animated shorts has been deemed sufficient to break out the ‘v’ word, while both Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov have piled in as producers on his feature debut.
9 is a solid enough CG animation about a gang of post-apocalyptic rag-doll commandoes charged with returning order to a world that tore itself apart in a war between man and machine. With a rugged steampunk aesthetic it’s certainly a departure from the usual formula of talking animals, but despite some sophisticated touches (killer robots with Wehrmacht helmets) there are too many elements borrowed from other, better sci-fi films, while the influence of Russian chancer Bekmambetov can be felt in the film’s preferencing of style over substance.
The story drifts towards the mawkish without answering any of the big questions it tentatively raises.
Anticipation:
Enjoyment:
In Retrospect:
I saw this a month or so back while I was in the states. Having really enjoyed the short when that was first about, I was looking forward to a feature length adaptation. The first thing I noticed was how dark and bleak the film was (which was really wonderful, the CG landscapes look amazing) and how it had pretty much cut off the kids audience that CGI films usually bring. A handful of allusions to communism and themes of humanity really set up for a great film. Unfortunately it seemed to end there. Just dragging on a forgettable story and bland character development. I still enjoyed the film, but it really missed out on (easily) being something really great.
Written by doug1482 on October 29th, 2009 at 17:52
Where the feature is a bloated monstrosity, with excessive exposition, utterly banal dialogue and few original ideas, the original 2005 short is a thing of beauty, precisely because it is elliptical, economic and enigmatic, and has no dialogue at all, annoying or otherwise. Check it out here:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1jl41_9-nine-sh...
Written by Anton Bitel on October 29th, 2009 at 18:46
It would have been more appropriate to call it 4, because that’s what it would get out of 10, and most of that would be for the animation which, irritatingly, is jeffing marvellous.
Written by The Incredible Suit on November 3rd, 2009 at 09:44
Sounds like a real shame, I’m gonna go see it anyway as the animation looks fantastic… And I\m a fan of Bekmambetov purely from watching nightwatch. I’ll be sure to check out the short anyhow.
Written by Daniel on November 6th, 2009 at 16:56
Daniel, if you liked Nightwatch, get yourself a copy of Daywatch – it's even better.
Written by Anton Bitel on November 6th, 2009 at 17:01
Aha, well I have actually already obtained a DVD of the mentioned film, in fact, it’s right here on the shelf next another film I need to watch… City of God. Maybe this evening? :)
Written by Daniel on November 6th, 2009 at 17:58
that would make for one tantalisingly strange double feature… not sure what would be the ideal order of viewing there – but no matter what, you have a long night ahead of you.
Written by Anton Bitel on November 6th, 2009 at 18:57