Rating
3.5

Interestingly enough, 9 sits comfortably between the paradigms of the stupefying action blockbuster (Transformers 2) and the stunning and complex cinematic masterpiece that explores the possibilities of visual effects (WALL-E). Director Shane Acker’s visual goals are remarkable, as made evident from the opening frames, where old fingers work to put the finishing touches on a rag doll, both roughly human and curiously alien, with the number “9” stitched into its back. 

In this film publicity image released by Focus features, the character #9, voiced by Elijah Wood, unleashes the Talisman in a scene from the animated film, "9." (AP Photo/Focus Features)

Soon after, this creature (Elijah Wood) comes to life and views the devastated remains of the human world with its inquisitive binocular eyes. However, the story soon gets underway, and as we meet the other rag dolls, “1” through “8,” and learn of the circumstances of the now-extinct human race, we see the movie’s relatively familiar premise, and 9 manages the difficult feat of being both original and derivative at the same time.  

The characters in 9 are very clearly defined despite how similar they are in appearance. For example, 5 (John C. Rielly) is intelligent yet terrified, accordingly obedient to those who appear smarter than he, while 1 (Christopher Plummer) acts as the self-proclaimed leader of the crew and comes off as stubborn as he does assured. 

These sketches, as defined by the script by Acker and Corpse Bride scribe Pamela Pettler, are pieces of a whole personality, as easily definable as they can be predictable. This makes the characters’ fight against the film’s villain, The Beast (the man-made machine that destroyed the human race), almost entirely unsurprising, because we know these stereotypes and everything they are about to do all too well. While this ends up being necessary to the film’s central premise, this fragmentation causes the protagonists to be less developed than their detailed appearances might indicate, dragging the pace of 9 down substantially. 

The movie is not necessarily a disappointment, but as the film came to a close, I found myself wanting more. The movie is an expansion of Acker’s short film of the same name, which garnered him an Oscar nomination in 2006, and the visual promise and underlying themes of that short subject alone warranted further exploration and analysis. But the story doesn’t stretch well to feature length due simply to the fact that all of the film’s original ideas appeared in the 10:30 short subject.

The result is a film both marveling and unamazing, grandiose in vision but limited in scale. Does this make 9 unworthy of a viewing? Hardly — the visuals really are quite remarkable. But if you are looking for something as innovative as those visuals inherently promise, then I’m afraid you’ve barked up the wrong ragdoll movie-tree. Like the film’s protagonists, 9 is fragmented, altogether incomplete, and one hopes Acker comes to the table with something more unique with his future endeavors.