9

Sometimes you have no clue what to make about a movie - you like it, don’t like it ! And 9 is one such head-scratcher !

The movie is an animation movie first. But then its also a thriller – and a sci-fi movie. And a Matrix like man-vs-machine plot (sans the acrobatics). And a couple of other plots that I cant remember. The characters are also type-cast – the weak leader, the strong & adventurous woman, the friendly side-kick, the dumb muscleman etc. Basically, I was continuously nagged with a déjà-vu feeling that I couldn’t shake off. But because of the unique visuals, I couldn’t place exactly what I was reminded of.

The imagination of the maker is vivid and you cant help admiring his doomsday vision. A brilliant scientist makes an AI (artificial intelligent) robot under the direction of a dictator (the German inspiration is quite obvious). The machines goes berserk and kills off all the humans. The doomed scientist’s last action is to create this tiny creature – out of jute gunny bag (it actually looks a lot like the gingerbread man) – before he dies. And paints the number 9 on its back – hence the name.

9 comes to this world with no memory and no clue who/where he is – and the movie is his story of figuring out the world and his place in it. He discovers that he is not alone - there are others like him. Others who help him realize what he is meant to do. The background setting is unique, but the rest of the movie seems unconsciously inspired from the movies the director has watched before.

The feel of the movie is the early part of the century – the machines are all steam driven and there is no mention of any electronics. The clank and hiss of steam make the machines more fun to watch – in a cartoony way. The city itself is completely ruined and overall very dark and desolate.

The storyline is however not the strongest and the climax was a little too arty. The first part of the movie has a few exciting moments, when something is lurking in the shadows – but as the story unravels, the ending is guessable. The runtime is perfect at 79 minutes – any more and it would have become boring!

The movie is based on director Shane Acker’s 10 minute graduation movie – which the producers liked and decided to make into a feature film. And yes, this is his first proper movie. The movie obviously has high production values and it shows in the visuals – but the story needed some strengthening to make it into a full length movie. So a middle-of-the-road rating for 9.