9

Potential. It seems to be in my vernacular more and more these days. The potential + the hype of a movie is greater than or less than to how much you like it. For example, 'District 9' was the perfect movie that combined a well calibrated hype machine with a ton of potential for its finished product into a well executed genre movie. Everything was equal to. Whereas with '9' the potential of a short film by Academy Award nominated Shane Acker with producer Tim Burton onboard to make the feature lead for a slew of potential. Then came the hype on what I will argue with anyone as the best action trailer thus far in '09. But the actual result is not as great as all the fuss is about.

'9' is flawed. The post apocalyptic setting and the intrigue as to how these sock puppet like creatures are created is all there. However, the action sequences and bland dialogue tend to weigh down an interesting concept and visual style, making for a more generic film than it should be. Shane Acker knows how to direct action. In fact, Michael Bay should watch every action sequence in '9' and take notes on how less is more along with the simple notion that every single meaningful action shot does not have to be in slow motion.

Dobler Rating: B

Final Thought:

'9' plays like watching 'The Corpse Bride' over seeing 'Nightmare Before Christmas.' Both are good movies, but only one is the classic and unfortunately, '9' does not live up to either its hype nor its potential although Shane Acker is definitely somebody to watch for in the future of filmmaking.