9 is a short (80 minute) animated film directed by Shane Acker, itself based on an Oscar-nominated ten-minute short by the same guy (producers include Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov and their signatures are all over this film, whether they were involved or not). It takes place in a post-apocalyptic future. How we got to that future is told in flashback, and it is a familiar story: man invents wondrous machine with brain; machine turns on man; devastating war destroys mankind. What survives are tiny burlap-covered robots of some kind, invented by the same scientist who created the original destructive machine. There are nine of them, and the film traces their efforts to band together, discover their purpose, and destroy the machine.
The animation is simply wonderful, with the ruins of a city rendered in fabulous detail, and all manner of metal creatures give chase to the little band of nine robots whose destiny it is to build the future. A lot is packed into the short running time, but almost all of it involves extended chase scenes, occasionally broken by moments of when the main characters have to decide between heroism or cowardice (symbolized by the difference between #1 (voiced by Christopher Plummer) and #9 (voiced by Elijah Wood). The story is too thin to sustain the movie (it really was better as a short), and the mystical ending strikes an odd note, but this is worth watching for the inventiveness of the animation alone.
Yes, the film looks great. but why does every SF dystopia have to devolve into some half-baked religious crap? “They’re free!” “They’re free!” Even the Thug #8!