Poster Talk: 9

I apologize. Blogger is acting up and I can't attach pictures of anything, so you will have to do with another non-picture edition of Poster Talk again.

I want to talk about "9" - not "District 9", just "9" alone, the motion capture feature from fresh talent Shane Acker, who developed his award-winning silent short film into a longer adaptation with the backing of Tim Burton and a screenplay by Pamela Pettler (Corpse Bride). The cast features, among others, the voices of Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly and Christopher Plummer. With such luminaries backing Acker, it is a pity that the fluid and detailed animation (to rival Pixar's) is let down by a weak story.

Just look at the posters (which I can't put up) - they are bursting with potential. But, at just slightly over an hour, there is little time for anything but exposition, let alone for developing nine characters which had great potential. Mankind has been wiped out in a war against machines, and the last shred of humanity resides within the 9 little dolls that have been brought to life by a scientist to defeat his other creation, The Brain, which had been responsible for the destruction of practically everything living.

In Acker's defense, rather than let the characters do the talking, much can be gleaned from the landscape, the buildings and even materials as well. For example, it may be significant that Number 9 along with a few other dolls are made from burlap - the same material that is used to make sandbags - the material that form the last line of defense against the enemy. An architect by training, Acker is adept at infusing the scenery with symbolic meaning. As the "stitchpunk" (a term coined by Acker) dolls become divided over how best to deal with the mechanical threats in the post-apopcalyptic world, the more conservative and close-minded Number 1 opts for safety in the sanctuary of an abandoned church. Meanwhile, the others seek answers in a gothic-Baroque landscaped library complete with alchemical treatises and faded newspaper cuttings.

Having said that in favour of the film, it is still pretty annoying that the plot follows pretty much the convention of RPG games, going so far as to include some scenes that were shot literally like one of those mini sequences that accompany boss fights. A waste! A pity! Darn! Quality animation should never take the place of a good story. The premise of Acker's short film was, I feel, intriguing enough for it to be explored in much greater depth than it had been. An allegorical warning about Man playing God? Certainly. A warning against ambition and the corrupting force of greed and power? Duh. Science versus faith. Check. Going beyond this convention of sci-fi genre? Sigh.

All the same, a visual delight, bleak though the film's tone is for most parts.
Rating: 3.5/5