9: Pretty far from 11

Having already seen Plan 9 and District 9 earlier this summer, I felt numerically obligated to see Tim Burton’s latest creation. Okay, that’s not entirely true, but I did enjoy a certain sense of satisfaction at watching a movie called 9 on 9/9/09, produced by Tim Burton, a man with 9 letters in his name. No, the real reason I watched this movie is because it was the first movie since Transformers 2 that I was genuinely looking forward to seeing, well in advance of its release. I passed up a home-cooked meal and Belgian ale to see this movie. That is how badly I wanted to see it!

From the first trailer back in I-can’t-remember-when to promotional cards I picked up at ComicCon to every subsequent preview, I was thoroughly captivated by the visuals, the stellar cast of voice actors, and the story it promised to tell. This would make up for every other lame movie I endured for the last several months. This was to be my end-of-summer movie redemption.

I am now looking for another movie to fill that role. (Come on, Avatar!) 9 disappointed, and while I can’t point to one overriding flaw, there are a number of small ones. However, lest you believe that I absolutely hated the movie, I will intermix praises amidst the criticisms. With that in mind, let’s look at my…

Top 9 (observations directed) at 9:

Bad: It is short. At only 71 minutes long, it barely warrants being called a feature-length film. OK, slight exaggeration. (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines feature length at 40-90 minutes.) Still, I want 90 minutes at a minimum and 9 could have been much better if it been longer.
Good: The visuals are amazing and worthy of praise. The environment is appropriately post-apocalyptica and sepia toned. Color is used sparingly and deftly, and great detail is given to the ravaged world.
Bad: The characters are underdeveloped. Were there too many to handle, or was the film just too short to give them enough screen time?
Good: The machines are darkly beautiful, creative, and sinister. Diablos ex Machina. They are what I enjoyed most.
Bad: The voice acting is largely wasted. Crispin Glover, for example, is a fantastic actor who plays wonderful, awkward characters due in small part to his physical presence. That presence doesn’t carry over into his stichpunk alter ego. John C. Reilly, with his cherubic features, can become the embodiment of childlike wonder and innocence. While I sensed this persona at times, it fails to fully translate to his digital counterpart.
Bad: The backdrop is given too little screen-time. Why are things the way they are in the world? What explanation is given fails to answer the questions that it creates.
Good: The world scales down the stitchpunk point of view beautifully. The use of the smaller things in this world shows attention to detail and creativity.
Bad: The score was largely underwhelming, lacking in gravitas.
Bad: The movie is meaningless.

That last point is what ultimately condemned the movie to the mediocrity bin for me. After all was said and done, I didn’t feel moved. I wasn’t provoked to think or feel. The movie became a technical construct; it showcased the ample skills of the designers and the animators, but the lack of story and depth exposed 9 to be as hollow as its characters. I give it a Martin Landau out of John C. Reilly babbles.