Review: 9

Shane Acker's Oscar-nominated short of the same name was so popular, people were talking about 9 long after it didn't win. It's a very solid short, both satisfying and leaving viewers wanting more. The announcement that the stitch-punk short was getting a feature adaptation was received with enthusiasm which kept building. Unfortunately, the feature-film version of 9 doesn't live up to the short.

Acker, who wrote and directed the original, only gets story and director credit for the feature. Pamela Pettler has the screenplay credits; she also co-wrote Monster House and Corpse Bride. Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Nochnoy dozor) and Tim Burton get producer credits, and you can see their influence, especially in the monsters. 

What started as a silent short is now a populated world with speaking characters; 9 is the last in a series of stitched-up dolls populating the world after humans have died off.  The characters are all easily recognizable, and that's to the film's detriment.  Like Wall-E, the best sequences are still the ones sans dialogue. Instead, we get stereotypical characters, from a leader too concerned about security to save his people, to a "warrior" with all the same moves you've seen in half the action movies of the last decade.

Scenes from the original are kept, with a lot of filler in between.  If you haven't seen the short, you might enjoy the feature version of 9, but it's predictable with most of the originality obliterated.