Shane Acker's 9

Directed by Shane Acker
Starring the voice talents of Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, and John C. Reilly

SYNOPSIS: Our world has ended. It's up to life-like mechanical puppets to stop the machine terror that threatens to devour the world. Also there are 9 of them.

THE POSITIVE: The visuals were stunning! One of the best digitally animated films I've seen this year. The voice casting was also excellent and worked well with the characters. It's very story-driven as well so there isn't a lot of dialogue. The story also combines a good mix of technical achievement with mythology. I really also like that even though it was animated it told an adult story. This isn't a kid's movie. There are definitely mature images and themes. I liked this because I've felt for a long time that the American film industry doesn't utilize animation to its fullest potential. In Japan, animation is often treated as a serious medium and isn't reserved for kid's fare. It was nice to see an animator step out there and give us a product that made you think and wasn't dumbed down.

THE NEGATIVE: The story didn't seem to be fleshed out that much. This may be because it was originally a short film, but the story was a bit lacking. There wasn't a traditional character or story arc, not that this is necessarily bad, but it had a more episodic feel to rather than a cohesive one. The film also just ends which annoys me. I mean it doesn't really make any sense how it ends and it was just...annoying. The back-story wasn't explained either, but that's not that crucial to understanding the film as a whole.

THE VERDICT: For all the hype it is worth seeing. I think maybe I was disappointed because I had built it up in my mind. The story wasn't what I expected either. But really you should go see it!

I give it 3 out of 5 stars*