When I first saw the preview for “9,” it looked so neat. I’ll be honest and admit that I walked into the theater slightly excited but I found myself waiting for my interest to begin. One lesson I’ve learned is that you can sometimes spend an entire movie waiting for the movie.
“9” is a sci-fi adventure based on Shane Acker’s short film of the same name. This student film caught the eye of Tim Burton and Acker was able to direct a full-length version of his original vision.
The animation, which was my biggest attraction, never let me down. The graphics are really stunning, the story is cool, there are great moments of excitement and the creatures are awesome. However, an unfamiliar emotion was brewing inside of me. As I left the theatre, I felt nothing. As if I had paid for a massage but received only a pat on the back. The feeling I was trying to describe and maybe didn’t want to admit was boredom with a touch of apathy.
The concept is interesting and creative (another initial draw for me). Nine machines are the last “living” beings on earth after humans destroy themselves with their own technology. After activating a long-dead powerful machine, the 9th creation must destroy the evil he has awoken. Post-apocalyptic cautionary tales are always fascinating. So, why had such an aesthetically interesting and conceptually intriguing movie left me nothing at all?
Right off the bat we’re watching a movie that was stretched from a quarter of an hour to just under 80 minutes. It is difficult to fill that time without being repetitive or without contriving some scenes for time’s sake. Action is one reason I feel the film gets a little tedious. There is an attack from the bad guys, then a small victory or loss, the characters talk, and then they fight a different creature.
Another challenge for a movie like this is creating sympathy for characters that are not human. It’s not impossible (i.e. Watership Down, The Secret of Nymh), and the burlap rag-dolls are personified well, they do everything humans do—feel pain, love, live, die—but they still felt empty. It’s hard to feel sympathy for anything when dialogue feels like it was written and delivered by robots.
In my opinion, mediocrity is a sin worse than a total flop. It’s frustrating when a film has the potential to be better. It is also frustrating because this seems like one of the first American attempts to break into the “Adults Only” animation genre, which is influenced by Japanese anime. As an anime and animation fan, I want to see it get its deserved respect from adults, but part of me says America is not ready.
All the elements of a great movie are here, but it missed the mark. No amount of dazzling computer graphics can make this film stand out in our quickly fading memories. Every part and piece is in place, but ironically it lacks the one thing it seeks to find: soul.
Verdict: Check it out on DVD; a worthy attempt, a fun movie, and I hope audiences will stay open to animated features in the future.
by jonny davis/staff writer
