Film Review: In yet another Earth ruin-scape, rag dolls fight on
Grim, computer-animated tale pits shreds of humanity vs. machines
Yet another nightmare post-apocalyptic world is imagined with a wealth of technical brilliance and a dearth of thematic originality in "9," a dark, computer-animated man-vs.-machine tale from debuting feature writer-director Shane Acker that feels redundant in the post-"Matrix," post-"Terminator" movie era.
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Focus Features
"Stitchpunk" 5 (at left, voiced by John C. Reilly) is saved from an attack by 2 (Martin Landau) in the epic fantasy ''9.''
Rated PG-13 for violence and scary images
Length: 79 minutes
Released: September 9, 2009 NationwideCast: Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, Martin Landau, Christopher Plummer, John C. Reilly
Director: Shane AckerProducer: Timur Bekmambetov, Tim Burton, Jim Lemley
Writer: Pamela Pettler
Genre: Animation, Action/Adventure, SciFi/Fantasy
Distributor: Focus Features
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A special effects artist and animator, Acker introduced the scrappy (pun intended) rag doll characters seen in "9" in a 2005 11-minute film of the same name that was nominated for an Oscar for Animated Short. These "stitchpunks" (a term coined by the filmmaker) provide the feature with its novelty: The warriors of the wasteland who scamper through the lifeless, ruined alternate Earth of "9" are not human heroes but stylized, doll-size fabrications of burlap, wood, articulated copper and zippers, brought to life through a sort of technological alchemy by their scientist creator, who imbued them with pieces of his soul just before humanity was wiped out by rebellious, sentient machines.
Mournful and grim ("We squandered our intelligence," one character says), "9," which opened Wednesday, probably was more effective as a short. Stretched to feature length with the support of celebrity fans/producers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov ("Night Watch"), the movie still barely hits 79 minutes, even with its lengthy closing credits. Much of the running time is devoted to protracted if beautifully rendered action sequences in which the "stitchpunks" battle pterodactyl-like flying contraptions, a skeletal metal dog known as "The Beast" and huge H.G. Welles-style war machines.
All this is extremely cool to look at (the machine revolt appears to have taken place in mid-20th Century, so the technology and the design is appealingly retro), but the story contributes little new to the genre. The characters are identified by the numerals stitched on their backs, and they're all familiar types: 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood), is earnest and brave; 5 (John C. Reilly) provides comic timidity; elderly-sounding 1 (Christopher Plummer) opposes knowledge and represents hidebound authority, and he's designed to resemble a bishop, complete with mitre and crosier.
Acker has acknowledged that his influences include Czech surrealist Jan Svankmajer and England's Stephen and Timothy Quay, whose eerie stop-motion shorts are filled with images of spastic puppets, violated dolls and injured, lurching toys. "9" tries to reconcile the mysterious impulses of these mini-"art" films with the crowd-churning excitation of such sci-fi action epics as "Terminator Salvation," but the result seems more compromised than harmonious.
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