I don’t know how safe I would feel knowing that a bunch of potato sacks, were my last hope on earth.
In a post-apocalyptic world, a small community of rag-doll robots hides in fear from dangerous machines out to exterminate them. But when a brave newcomer named 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood) joins the group, he inspires them to stand up and fight for their survival.
Right as soon as this movie started going, I knew I had seen this somewhere. It’s story is just so familiar that really, I couldn’t find any imagination within this film. Many sci-fi films like Terminator, Blade Runner, and even Star Wars all came up while I was watching this film. Also, I wasn’t that engaged with the story. But I can’t really blame myself for that reason, because in ways it almost seems like the story, and characters are second nature when it comes to the look of this film. Which sucks, cause I’m game for any kind of film, just give me a story to work with, which this did not.
However, the visuals are great. The look this film has is just perfect, because it looks and feels like a video game, a very very cool video game. Director Shane Acker has most of his attention centered at the detail of the look, and it shows very well. The film gives off this place of despair, and loneliness, and it does feel like that because Acker doesn’t shy away from showing us this brutal after-world.
There is also a great deal of action within this film that is stunning. You follow along as the action goes by, and you see it all happen, which is always good. But that is the problem with the film, because I don’t know who they had this centered towards. Kids may want to see it because of the animation, and cute little characters, but this is strictly a grown-up animation movie, which is just weird saying. There are scenes that show warfare, and dead bodies, and the bad things in this film, are genuinely creepy, and I can just see little kids, being freaked totally the fuck out by this film.
The characters as I stated before weren’t really developed, but the cast I guess is just so-so. Elijah Wood is alright as 9, John C. Reilly basically does what he has to do in a good way, Jennifer Connelly is just there, as well as Crispin Glover. The two that stand out for me are Christopher Plummer, and Martin Landau, mainly cause there voice actually fits the characters their portraying, and they do well with what their given.
Consensus: It may not have an engaging story to begin with, but it’s commitment to stunning visuals, as well as a gloomy mood, make this film work with older people, but not with kids.
6.5/10=Rental!!
Dan the Man's Movie Reviews 
The aesthetics are interesting, but the whole of the film is very poor.
Almost all style, barely any substance.
Good review and I’m really agree with you. Despite wonderful visual this movie just made no sense and left so many unanswered questions.
Very true indeed!
Gosh, this was a snorefest. Agree with you totally the visuals were stellar and the mood was set with those fantastic graphics…but story was weird and could have been developed more.
Great mix of actors for the cast but just because you have top drawer voice talent doesn’t always mean it’ll make for an engaging film. Still it was a neat concept but just didn’t do anything for me.
Didn’t do much for me, other than give me good visuals, and a lot of detail at the way it looks, but that was it.
It was OK, but completely forgettable. I liked the characters, was pleased how dark the plot went, but at the end of the day felt like I somehow got jipped, and then I really wanted to play BioShock.
Hahah yeah, I know what you mean, it could have delivered on so many more levels.