The post-Apocalyptic world is a bleak, dark place filled with industrial wreckage. Against this backdrop, director Shane Acker crafts a multi-layered tale that can be enjoyed as much by pre-teens as their papas. 9 is unrelenting in its visual grimness: the silent factories with giant wheels, the huge eerie black towers, the metal garbage strewn across the landscape - all combine to create a savage setting. But it is the state-of-the-art special effects and great lens-work that create a really engrossing flick. The action sequences, especially the one involving a maniacal, metallic flying beast, are wonderfully crafted.

Film: 9 (animation, adventure)
Cast: Voices of Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, John C Reilly, Crispin Glover
Director: Shane Acker
Duration: About one hour and 15 minutes
Critic Rating:

What elevates 9 a notch above the regular sci-fi tale is its ability to create empathy for its strange-looking heroes: the stitchpunks. The cute midget-sized figures with big, round expressive eyes take the fight to the giant machines. It is the typical David and Goliath setting. But we root for the 'small creations' for their willingness to challenge themselves against impossible odds. They become what we perhaps aspire to be.

The lead characters have numbers as names. The movie borrows its title from the name of the gang's young leader. 9 is aggressive and intelligent whereas 1, the wise Oriental-looking patriarchal leader, is cautious. 1 wants to hide, 9 wants to fight. Their debate becomes a lesson in decision-making. In the end, the scientist regrets making the machines that destroyed mankind (and womankind too) because he realizes that they can be corrupted by the corrupt. In its sub-text, 9 urges us to avoid the pitfall.

At one level, 9 can be enjoyed purely as a racy sci-fi fantasy weaved around the time-honoured themes of bravery and friendship. But the movie, co-produced by Tim Burton, can also be viewed as a moral document, as an allegory of choices. Either way, 9 is fine.



Courtesy : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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