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Copyright © 2009 Flaming Dog Media, LLC. All rights reserved. |
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9 Dolls up Post-Apocalypse |
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September 9, 2009 So, awhile back when a friend of mine & I went to see Star Trek (2009), because she hadn’t seen it, we saw the trailer for 9. She was excited for the movie. I was impressed with the voice cast, but not with what I saw of the movie itself from the trailer. Last week, while getting together with friends to see The Time Traveler's Wife (the book was better), another friend of mine & her daughter were excited about seeing 9 after it opened, and pointed out the cardboard standee display to me while we were in the lobby. Still, not that impressed. The screening was oddly timed, too – 9:09 PM on a weeknight, the day before its opening on 9-9-09. Last time I’d seen a screening that late, it was for Aeon Flux, which we all know kind of sucked, even though I kind of liked it, and still have the movie poster somewhere. But, when I arrived at the Alamo Drafthouse – Village just after five o’clock, there were already folks in line, about a half dozen, waiting for the nine o’clock screening. The Drafthouse pre-show was almost painful to endure, and it lasted, for us, for about half an hour before the screening started. There was a commercial for future Drafthouse events, followed by trailers for Capitalism: A Love Story, A Serious Man, Alice in Wonderland, and something else, I don’t even remember now… And then the movie! 9 starts out with the construction of a small doll, numbered 9 on its back, and the voiceover of its creator, saying that they had their chance at the world, and were destroyed. Now, it would be 9’s turn. Some time passes, and when 9 awakens, he picks up the doohickey that was attached to his harness, taking it with him as he goes out to explore a post-apocalyptic world. Outside, he encounters 2, who gives him the ability to speak after messing with his innards. Too soon, 2 & 9 are attacked by the Creature, which I really liked. The Creature is a mix of metal & animal bone, designed to look like a jungle cat, sort of. 2 is captured, and the doohickey is taken. 5 sees 9, wounded and unconscious in the wasteland, and rescues him. When 1 & 8 learn that 5 went out on his own, and brought back 9, he’s condemned for his actions. When 9 insists on rescuing 2, 1 forbids it. But, 5 & 9 go out, anyway. The follow the trail left by the Creature, and use a map to find their way to the factory, which the Creature is defending. And 7 is introduced. I really loved 7. She gets a hero shot entrance, and later, gets one of the best lines of the movie. While in the factory, 9 inadvertently attaches the doohickey from his harness, which reactivates the Machine. The Machine was responsible for the destruction of humanity in the first place, by building war machines that fought humans. The humans fought back, but were wiped out. 5, 7 & 9 escape the factory, and 7 takes them to hide with 3 & 4, twin archivists made from gloves. Not long after, the three of them return to 1’s church, and are forced to work together to stop the Machine. 9, voiced by Elijah Wood, is supposed to be the main character, and, yeah, I get that he is, but I really enjoyed 7, voiced by Jennifer Connelly, so much more once she was introduced. 7’s character design was great, and included a bird’s beak & skull as a helmet, with feathers hanging off her back. And the attitude she had was so different from the others – she was aggressive, looking to fight the Creature, the Machine, and whatever else got thrown her way. Very cool. 8, the “muscle” for Christopher Plummer’s 1, has a pretty good laugh involving a magnet while he’s on sentry duty. And, at that point in the movie, the laugh is needed. And it’s just so goofy! The animation for 9 is top notch. Each character is distinctive, even the mute twins, and the world the dolls inherit is very steampunk-ish. At several points during the film, I found myself wishing I could be watching it in IMAX or 3D, but haven’t seen anything about those being options, which is a shame. And since Jason likes it when I mention music in a movie, I will say that this has one of the best uses of "Over the Rainbow" since The Wizard of Oz. 9 is rated PG-13, so, folks with kids need to keep that in mind. This isn’t the usual children’s flick. There are some pretty intense moments when the dolls fight the various creatures & the Machine. Characters get wounded (bloodlessly, but still), and there are a few deaths. There are also several corpses shown, including a mother & baby left in a car in the wastelands when 9 first starts out into the world. Still, I’d go see it again, and will definitely pick up the DVD when it becomes available. Tom Sharp
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