I went to see this Friday with some friends, and I gotta say, it was pretty amazing! I just hated the ending! I felt like they accomplished nothing since the beginning of the film
Got back from seeing the film a while ago. Here’s my quick review:
Plot Synopsis:
”When 9 (Elijah Wood) first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world. All humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.”
Aside from perhaps The Princess and the Frog (and, prior to May 29th, Up), there hasn’t been a single movie this year that I’ve been looking forward to more than Shane Acker’s debut film, 9. The basic premise, while somewhat familiar, really intrigued me, and the art direction looked superb. Along with a decidedly darker tone than most animated films, this one definitely looked like it had potential to be one of the all-time greats. But does 9 live up to its full potential? Well…not quite.
On the positive side (and as one would guess from the trailers), the movie looks spectacular. By use of both the environments and the characters, this harsh, post-apocalyptic world feels extremely real, and successfully draws you into the film. I simply couldn’t take my eyes off of the art on display here.
The voice acting is also relatively solid. Jennifer Connelly as 7, the strong-willed warrior of the group, and Christopher Plummer as 1, the gang’s self-proclaimed leader, are especially terrific in their roles.
As much as the visuals draw you into the film, and as strong as the voice acting is, though, the story feels pretty bland, and in fact, is littered with several gaping plot holes. The movie is also quite short, and with the majority of it centered on the action, I don’t think I had enough time to connect with any of these characters. There was only one scene in which I truly felt attached to them, which was toward the end, with the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” playing throughout. To me, as well as a few other people that I’ve spoken to, that was easily the best scene in the film.
Overall, 9 is a thoroughly entertaining film with beautiful animation and a strong voice cast. Unfortunately, the story itself ends up being pretty dull, and not as complex as one might hope. It’s still a solid film, and I look forward to whatever Shane Acker’s next project is (animated or otherwise). However, it simply doesn’t live up to the potential that I thought it had.
7.5/10
Thanks for the review, Rare Addict! 
Despite the mixed reviews, I am still incredibly curious to watch this, and am absolutely furious it’s not getting a release or a single word in Oz yet. 
But at least now I’m wiser with the knowledge that it’s not as spectacular story-wise as the trailers made it out to be…
Excellent review RareAddict. I find myself sharing the same views as you almost exactly, except for connecting with the characters. I think the characters were wonderfully done, except for 9 and 8. I also thought that 5’s voice acting (John C. Reilly) was pretty weak, but the rest of the voices were spectacular.
Fixed it. xD
Seriously though, you hit the nail pretty well. 9’s a flawed gem. It’s quite good, even worth a few viewings, but there was so much untouched potential. I really hope it does well anyway and we get a sequel so I can get more of these characters that I did. You can see the short film growing pains. Acker is used to having a tiny canvas, suddenly has a wall to work with, and can’t fill it all, if that makes sense. He could have gone more intense and epic with the emotional side. It was still quite a good movie though. I’m planning to go see it again. Plus, I’m kinda digging into the symbolism of it, and if I’m right, this is a subtle masterpiece and everybody’s missing it.
Then again, if it had been more pumped up, would it have felt as REAL? That’s 9’s greatest writing strength: Despite not getting more time with the characters, you related to them immensely. It kinda reminds me of Cloverfield. Steampunk Toy Story meets Cloverfield.
No matter what’s going on with the writing though, the art. Good grief, the ART. Sorry Up, I love you, you deserve best picture fo sho, but I’m rooting for 9 come the Annies as far as art direction goes. I’m still amazed this whole thing was made for 33 mil.
Honestly, I can see your perspective on the art for 9. It was really exceptional. Up was a bit more lighthearted, 9 definitely had more depth in the environments. 9 is really gorgeous to watch, as is Up. I think it’d be a preference thing.
Yes, good review, Rare Addict.
Disappointing for me, although it doesn’t deserve the mixed rating by the critics. Yeah, the ending was poorly written, but I did like how the movie began. As everyone is saying, the quality of the animation was superior. However, there are many flaws in the story; it just isn’t that original. Early on in the film it was obvious to me that it wasn’t going to get much better and fulfill all the promise. If it were done in the Mel Gibson era when he was tromping about down under, then it would have been innovative. Not now. High quality animation and very interesting characters need a great story to bring in the bacon. There are a few surprising moments here, but none of any wonder. I just kept asking myself as I drove away from the theater: “Why did they make this?”
6.5/10
I need to go out and see this. The only bad part is its REALLY short. Its almost like a TV feature. o well, ill admire the work and design of the film as well, so it will be worth the money.
I went to Toys R Us and got this!
A 9 action figure! I love it! Also,folks,who are your top 9 favorite charters?
1.5:I love 5! 5 is the coolest! He’s also hilarious at some points! [spoil]I wanted to cry when he died,he was my favorite![/spoil]
2.7: Come on,on gotta love 7,she is awesome! You go girl!
3.9: I love 9! He is so awesome! I mean,besides,he’s the HERO!
4.8:8 is so awesome! I was cracking up during the magnet scene. [spoil]But he seemed so careless,he was barley in the movie! When he died,it seemed so careless,I mean,did they even NOTICE 8 died? I mean,really![/spoil]
5. 2:[spoil]I like him and all,but why was he BARLEY in the movie? I mean,really! Come on![/spoil]
6.6. He was pretty cool, but we BARLEY see him! [spoil]At least his death wasn’t careless![/spoil]
7.3&4: Lol,they are so cute.
8.1. Dear Lord,I HATE 1! HATE HATE HATE 1! [spoil]He was the reason 2,6 died. When 8 died,he didn’t really care! I mean,he wouldn’t let anyone save 5! And also,did you SEE how frightened 3&4 looked when 5 died? Jeez wa weez. [/spoil]
I saw this last week and I really liked it. It was very original and it looked great. annarborjack now I really want that action figure .
I was expecting this movie to be…deep? You know, give me something to chew on for a bit after I left the theatre. Real good action, it was just lacking in story and character development. Really, [spoil]7 could just do that beheading of the cat beast and everyone would have a happy ending. There’s nothing to chase them anymore. But no, 9 just has to come along, re-awaken the destroyer of mankind, and shut it down, AGAIN. The whole movie was basically everyone trying to fix up a mistake the protagonist made in the beginning. NOTHING was acomplished![/spoil]
Still havent seen it, but Im just posting this to say that this thread has reached 9 pages! XD
OH MY GOD! You can watch the whole movie here,no lie!
[link removed]
I just watched it for a 2nd time at that website,man,its really short,when I first saw it,I thought it was long,but now that I saw it again and knew what was gonna happen,the movie seemed short. Still good though!
Do not link to movies online please. This is against the rules of Pixar Planet. — Rachel. =)
I really loved this movie. Great animation, and a lot of details. On of my favo’s in animation 
Still haven’t seen this one, but some friends of me obsess over it, so I guess it must be awesome xD
Funny thing, we’re on page nine now too. 