Rating of
3/4
9 Review
Myviewing - wrote on 12/01/09
2009 has shown its fascination for the number 9 be it District 9 or this. As the title suggests, there are 9 main characters and this is the third theatrical computer animated film to be rated PG-13. With those factors in mind, you'd probably assume it's a computer animated film for adults considering the way it was advertised. Obviously when you see the advertisement in theaters, you'd assume this is the case. So you might be wondering, does this movie compare to other computer-animated films, well overall I can say it's an alright movie, but it doesn't compare to the greats, particularly this year's Up. Basically this is the story in a nutshell, machines have taken over the world and killed off humanity. However, a scientist has invested his soul into 9 sack boy like creatures with the use of some "Dark Science" or something like that. That's one problem with the movie right there, it doesn't explain things very well, I just made assumptions for attempts to fill in the gaps. Oddly enough, when these things come to life, as soon as they gain a voice box, they're able to speak perfect English, know their environments, and fight off against the robotic monsters. But anyway, the story goes that it's their survival instinct to face against the horrors of the machines that killed off humanity. There is of course more to the story, but you've probably either figured it out by now, or you're just too interested to really want to have it spoiled. As you've seen from the footage, the movie does look great, and that's something considering its $33 million budget. The voice acting is also really good, Elijah Wood, Martin Landau, and several other talented actors are enough to make convincing characters. Like I said earlier though, the movie doesn't really explain a lot of things, seeing that somehow these things are able to speak perfect English 5 minutes after coming to life. Also how the scientist did this in the first place, they don't explain that either, not a Faustian device from ancient times, not the result of an alternative take on history, nothing really. I just assumed he was using a Horcrux device of sorts. That's probably the biggest thing the movie has as a problem, it doesn't explain a lot of stuff in satisfying ways, particularly towards the end. Also for a PG-13 movie, there's not much PG-13 about it. Sure there's some violent scenes and the imagery isn't exactly Snow White, but the idea of this being rated PG-13 is something I'd understand if this movie was released back in the 90s or some time like that. Another bit of a problem I have is how short this movie is, this movie is less than 80 minutes long (79 to be exact). I guess that's what happens when your budget isn't Pixar huge.At the end of the day, 9 is a pretty alright movie with what it attempts to do, but I think it could have been done better. See it theaters? I don't think so unless you're really interested or just have ticket money to burn. I think 9 is more of a good rent than anything. So Up remains uncrowned, but who knows, maybe Shane Acker could find a career as a director if he continues to make efforts.
