Column:

New Tim Burton flick '9' is more like a one

By Katy Wagner

Published Sept. 18, 2009

We have all seen the trailer for "9." The heart-stopping action and stunning graphics set to Coheed and Cambria's dueling guitars made "9" seem like a new cult classic in the making. And that was before the Tim Burton endorsement was emblazoned all over it."9" promised to be a peculiar and fascinating film, but unfortunately only succeeded in looking the part.

In "9," we follow the titular character as he explores an earth where the humans were destroyed by renegade machines. 9 and his other numbered friends (dubbed Stitch Punks by the filmmakers) are intricate sock-puppets infused with human traits who are somehow the last hope for humanity. We watch as they band together and fight the machines that threaten their lives.

The visual style and action itself were nothing short of amazing. Director Shane Acker has really outdone himself in those departments. The dark — and yet completely wondrous — post-apocalyptic Earth really jumps off the screen. Even though this world is riddled with macabre reminders of the long gone human race, Acker has instilled a sort of grim fairytale sense of wonder into the surroundings. This mysteriously beautiful tone succeeds in dragging the audience into the screen.

Although the visuals do set a nice tone, it's the action sequences that are truly supposed to shine. Even though other computer generated movies opt to use their special-effects powers to confuse us with unrealistic and grossly incompetent action sequences, the action scenes in "9" are tight and taut. Unfortunately, all of the action is wasted on characters in a story that the audience really could not be bothered to care about.

The massive hindrances to these amazing action sequences are the dull characters and the generic plotline. It's almost as if Acker found the blueprint for the "Hero's Journey" and threw it onto the screen. The plot is overtly simplistic, perhaps in an effort to appeal to younger viewers. This is overwhelmingly confusing, considering the amount of death in the film — not exactly kid-friendly.

Within the basic premise of the film, the one-note characters do make sense. Every Stitch Punk was infused with a human trait. So 9 is inquisitive, 7 is a warrior, 2 is a mechanic and 8 is a bumbling idiot. Although this is an interesting concept, the characters lack the ability to develop further. The only character given room to breath within its archetype is 1, but his personal journey is so standard that it lacks sincerity. This leaves the audience without a character to connect with and spreads apathy throughout the duration of the film.

Perhaps the saddest part of the terribly flat characters is the voice talent that is wasted on them. The cast consists of Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly and Elijah Wood: a cast that combined boasts more than five Oscar nominations and two wins. But left with the minimal breathing room each rigid role possesses, every performance seems phoned in.

With "9," Shane Acker and Tim Burton have truly put together a beautiful-looking film with an attention to visual detail that is fully engrossing. What really shines in "9" are breakneck action sequences, but all of this is simply for face value. When it comes to things like characters, emotions and actual storylines, "9" falls flat.