Michelle and I were lucky enough to get to two preview screenings last week, the first of which was 9 by Shane Acker. I was actually pretty keen to see this, as the trailer was excellent and I enjoyed the short film it was based on.
Unfortunately, the final film got nowhere near to meeting my expectations. It was frustrating, boring and ultimately forgettable. While visually stunning in places,the writing can’t match the visuals. The characters (in particular the main protagonist) are poorly written stereotypes and their decisions are, even in the context of the film, are completely illogical. I am usually pretty tolerant of contrived plot devices if the action is exciting and the characters enjoyable, but 9 misses all these marks. The antagonist in the film is created in a scene where the hero makes a random decision for no reason that is never questioned on and never held accountable for. He is directly responsible for the death of one of the last 9 living entities on earth, and yet the others still follow him like he’s a messiah!
The more I think back on it, the more frustrated I get. It seems that there is a good story in there trying to get out, but it ends up getting buried pretty deep.. It really is a shame about the plot, because it sure does look good.
