Quite possibly the best looking animated film of 2009, with its only rival being Coraline. Shane Acker's visual imagination is astounding. This is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick about a group of robotic sack-dolls fighting to preserve themselves from an at first unspecified thing hunting them. 9, the ninth and final sack doll, is the last to awaken into the world. He starts trouble by being overly curious about existence. Most of the movie is made up of chase sequences, but they're beautifully choreographed. The film should be counted amongst the best action movies of the year. In all honesty, 9 should have been one of the year's best films in a year pretty much dominated by animated films. It has such promise. Unfortunately, Acker's desire to drop us into this mysterious world without much information ends up backfiring on him. The whole thing feels underdeveloped. The characters, most of all 9, are so thin that it's really hard to give much of a damn if anything happens to them or not. The villain of the picture is extremely awesome to look at, but its backstory is just generic sci-fi stuff. And the final bit is very unsatisfying. The film overall is kind of a big disappointment, but it still comes highly recommended just for the visuals. At 79 minutes, it's hardly a chore.
9
(I) (2009)
Should have been one of the best films of the year, but the script is weak
13 January 2010