Loaded Couch Potatoes

Master Black’s favorite number is nine. Does newbie director Shane Acker do this digit justice?

I first saw a theatrical preview for 9 on Watchmen, I think. The trailer was fantastic, showcasing the movie’s well-detailed steam-punk world, slick fight scenes, and big name voice casting; all of this was set to an awesome edit of Coheed & Cambria’s “Going Home,” a song I enjoyed well before the Rock Band games elevated it’s pop-culture standing. My excitement fizzled slightly in the interim between trailer and release, but every new bit of promotional material I saw still got me re-hyped. So did 9/9/09 usher in a new era of animated cinema? If you don’t mind a spoiler or two, read on to find out.

To begin with, I liked this movie overall; no, it didn’t re-invent the wheel, but it did delivery most of what I was expecting. The action is cool, and generally well-edited; the character designs – both for the “9″ and “the beasts” – are original in their mechanical execution; the story does its job well enough to keep you watching; and the music and voice work is better than most non-Pixar animation has achieved recently. If you’re reading this article to find out whether or not you should see this movie, then the answer is “Yes.” With that taken care of, we can talk a little more in-depth.

Though you wouldn’t know it from the trailers, neither Tim “Nightmare” Burton nor Timur “Wanted” Bekmambetov directed this little gem; the two Tims were involved on the producing side, but virtual-unknown Shane Acker was in “the chair” on this one. And as much as I enjoyed this movie, it was Acker’s first, and it shows. Most of what I’m going to discuss below I really think stems from lack of experience; to his credit, most of it is areas where I feel Shane should have given a little more, but may not have in order to avoid over-doing things.

The story is, at its heart, nothing all that new or fancy: Man creates machines to fight his wars, machines turn against man and kill everything, and a ragged band of survivors must try and sally-onward. The originality – and in turn, the reason to care - stems mostly from the “9″ themselves, who are miniature sack-puppets granted life by a dying scientist in hope that they can somehow restore the Earth. To the animators’ credit, the nine – and their foes, the “beasts” – are all unique, and telling them apart is never an issue. What is an issue, though, is that their motivations throughout the film are iffy, at best. Supposedly split apart by years of hiding and loss, all but two of the other eight instantly trust number nine. Each one is supposed to have a unique personality, and though some are too obvious, they all end up feeling a little cookie-cutter. This becomes especially bothersome when their failures and successes illicit no real emotional response, mainly because you haven’t been given a chance to get to know them.

As in often the case in video games – and this movie feels like one giant game, boss fights and all – a few story hiccoughs can be forgiven if the overall spectacle is maintained by things like huge actions set pieces. Unfortunately, it looks like the trailer managed to steal all but a few of the coolest moments in this regard. Truth be told, the thrilling moments where a fighter does something like leap high into the air brandishing a sword have always, to me at least, come in second to well-thought-out fight choreography. In 9, while there are a few times a character does something wicked-cool like rolling under an incoming blow, most of the fights are over so fast that you wonder why these “beasts” were ever considered a threat.

All of the negatives I have mentioned so far could, I think, really have benefited from no more than an additional 15 or 20 minutes worth of screen-time. True, it’s nice to see a director who doesn’t drag you along for 150+ minutes of worthless bullsh*t. (Somewhere, hopefully, Michael Bay just ran into a piece of furniture). I also know animation like this is expensive, and therefore the studio may not have been as willing to let Shane pour money into his freshman project. It’s just aggravating to walk out of a movie wishing it would have demanded a little more of my time.

At the end of the day on September 9th, 2009, I’m really glad to have seen this movie. I saw it with people who also appreciated it (something I would heavily recommend); I will also likely own a bluray disc of it at some point (the animation really is superb). If you only interest in this movie was as a balls-out-Final-Fantasy-cinematic-fight-scenes flick, you may be disappointed. But if you’re just looking for something that can be genuinely enjoyed, with a few laughs and “ooh/ aah” moments, this movie is a perfect solution.