9 - Movie Review

9 is an amazing step forward in the field of computer animation but, unfortunately, that's about all it has going for it. The plot is boilerplate - a group of friends must band together against an evil force and get from one place to another in the most complicated of clockwork machinations and then Learn a Life Lesson from all the goings on - and the characters, while interesting, spring fully-formed with hardly a reason given or shown for their motivations. But I'm being too harsh. Though this is an animated film, it's not only for children and my misgivings aside, it's a marvel how the filmmakers pull it off and you can enjoy it for the technical achievement alone. For now, though, Pixar still owns the animated movies that are able to meld technical skill with great stories and characters.