9 is a stitchPunk, Tim Burton, movie that is in a post apocalyptic setting about the struggle of life to persevere:
The time is the too-near future. Powered and enabled by the invention known as the Great Machine, the world’s machines have turned on mankind and sparked social unrest, decimating the human population before being largely shut down. But as our world fell to pieces, a mission began to salvage the legacy of civilization; a group of small creations was given the spark of life by a scientist in the final days of humanity, and they continue to exist post-apocalypse. -official site
Here are 3 Good Trailers Looking at 9. I'm very curious about this movie, the idea sounds very interesting though I have some reservations about it.
The Look
The look of the setting is inspiring but what are we to expect from a Tim Burton Film. I just don't know about the sock puppets and the robots. I don't know if I can relate on the emotional level needed for this film with the 9. My hope is that in context of the entire film they won't look so unempathetic especially since we are dealing with the topics of hope and survival of humanity in the face of an apocalypse.
The Promotion
The promotion for this movie has also been a mixed bag. I love all of the web work done, the site is a little flash heavy causing slowdown and times but it is fun and emmersive into the setting. I love how they used the old timey clips to help entice the audience into discovering what horrors happened to create the post appolopytic setting.
I was very disappointed with the clips released though, read more here: New Clips for 9 and A Letter From a Fan. Now that a lot of the biggest opposition robots have been shown in a lot of detail and how the 9 defeat them I have less of a reason to watch the movie.
Looking Behind The Curtain
To put on the mythic lenses for a moment, lets look at what the film has promised us. I should expect to see the themes of:
run away science intending to do good but cause harm
the military industrial complex bringing about an apocalypse
robots rising up and killing off humans
the perseverance of the human spirit and it's amazing adaptability
What is missing from all of the materials is which side of the fence this film is supposed to fall on. I want to see either:
A dark tale warning us about the dangers put forth in this film and their final depressing outcome. In the end 9 human spirit possessed puppets are not enough to perpetuate humanity at best they could live forever to spread our names throughout history like warning beacons for future civilizations.
Or a tale of hope with maybe the discovery of a hidden population large enough to perpetuate the species with the lessons learned.
What I don't get is how this is a tale of good verses evil that I want to partake in. From all of the promotional material it looks like evil has won and there is no hope for the future even if the 9 succeed in their task. Why should I care? That is why this is definitely a renter for I will want to see how it is pulled off but I don't know if I will watch it in the theaters.
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