I am an animation fan. I also want to pursue a career in animation as I mentioned before in my other animated film reviews. So, the film 9 was on my watchlist for about 4-5 years now after I saw a review of it on Youtube. I knew the premise of the film and took a look at the trailer off the film. The concept of the film was really intriguing. Therefore, I watched the film today from some online sources. How is the film? Does it give justice to the concept of the film? Let us find out.
9 is a 2009 animated post apocalyptic science fiction drama directed by Shane Acker starring Elijah wood, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover among others. The story revolves around the fight between science and humanity. When a machine invented with its own intellect is used by a corrupt dictator, it sweeps away the whole of humanity and the things left are the 'stitchpunks'. When the last of these stitchpunks 9 arrives, things start to shake a bit. What happened to them? Who are these 'stitchpunks'? Find out in the movie.
The screenplay can be summarised in this line. Well executed but is fairly too simple. The screenplay of the film has got detail and finesse. The post-apocalyptic setting is portrayed very well and has that Tim Burton influence in it. Dark is the word. The origins of the stitchpunks are shown very creatively and highlights the side effects of machines. The creative aspects of the film like the use of lamps or the machines are well constructed. But, due to the story line being simple in comparison to other apocalypse films, it misses the impact for many. I liked it but you may not. The film can get stretchy at parts and the stitchpunks themselves are one note. Like, 1 is arrogant and afraid of everything. 5 is fearless and ready to take up any challenge. 9 is the curious one and 6 is the mentally disturbed one. Therefore, most of the heavylifting had to be done by the voice actors and animators. Overall, the screenplay has good detail but the risk of having a simple story did not work out.
The voice acting of these one note characters though is fantastic. All have given good intense performances which bring considerable impact in a mildly intense film. My favourites are Elijah Wood as 9 showing off his curiosity and the range of emotions where there was requirement of it. Christopher Plummer as 1 is the next best portraying fear and arrogance together with ease. John C Reily as 5 is the common man of the film. He portrays trust, belief towards 9 and his other mates really well. This complemented with the animation of these characters works really well.
The animation of the film is the best thing about the film. I did not realise that the film was released in 2009. The animation dates significantly in few scenes featuring the humans. They needed smoothness and texture. But, the other aspects OMG are incredible. The backgrounds of the film are dark, chilling and have a colour tone similar to a uncleaned toilet. But, it is very aesthetically pleasing. The character design is very well done. The character animation excluding the humans is very smooth and the expressions of the rag dolls given are very good. If you bring some rag dolls to life, this is how it should be. Overall, maybe the film should have got more nominations than what I saw especially for the animation.
Overall, 9 is not a must watch but if it is your first apocalypse drama, it can be a good gate to get in. It has great animation and voice acting. The screenplay too is good for first-timers but can become very stretchy compared to other apocalypse films, simple and weak story being the reason. If you wanna watch the film make sure you keep expectations to a zero and make yourselves ready for a good and dark sci-fi apocalypse drama.
iMDB Rating : 7.1/10
My Rating : 7/10
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