MOVIES: Sum of ‘9’ doesn’t quite add up

The last remnants of humanity aren’t even human in “9,” the new animated action-adventure flick from director-writer Shane Acker and producer Tim Burton. Instead, they’re “stitchpunks.”

Stitchpunk is the name Mr. Acker has given the anthropomorphic dolls that wander the ruined streets of an unnamed city ravaged by an all-consuming war between man and machine. Imbued with a spark of humanity by their creator, the little canvas punks struggle to avoid the evil machines that have eliminated humanity and must work with each other if they are to discover the secrets of the world they inhabit.

The movie begins when 9 (voice of Elijah Wood) awakes and moves out into the world; frightened, alone and in possession of an odd talisman, 9 is found and befriended by 2 (Martin Landau), who explains that they and seven other dolls are all that are left. After 2 is captured by the vicious catbeast - a frightening mechanical monstrosity - 9 must find the others in order to rescue 2 and discover the secrets this ruined world still holds.

The most interesting aspect of “9” isn’t the story (the apocalyptic threat of self-replicating robots who have risen against their human creators is nothing we haven’t seen fleshed out more satisfactorily in “The Matrix” or “The Terminator”) or the animation (which is good, if not quite up to Pixar’s standards). It certainly isn’t the characters, which are little more than cutouts.

No, the most fascinating thing about “9” is that this is arguably the most fully realized steampunk universe ever created for the big screen.

Steampunk - from which the word stitchpunk is derived - is a genre of fantasy that re-imagines the world of the recent past by combining technological advances like computers with mechanical contraptions powered by steam. The result is a baroque visual style that feels familiar yet strangely alien.

“Familiar yet strangely alien” is a phrase that also calls to mind the work of Mr. Burton, who served as a producer of “9” along with Timur Bekmambetov, the director of “Wanted.” Though based on a short film made by Mr. Acker, one gets the sense that a number of the crazily imagined creatures flitting through “9’s” landscape have arrived on-screen directly from Mr. Burton’s twisted mindscape: One snakelike creature that uses deceased stitchpunks as bait to draw his fellows closer is strikingly reminiscent of the sand worms from “Beetlejuice.”

While the cast of voice actors is top-notch (Jennifer Connelly and John C. Reilly also portray stitchpunks) the highlight of “9” unquestionably is its visual design. The look of the characters - both the heroic dolls and the insidious machines they are up against - is incredibly intriguing, and the universe that Messrs. Acker, Burton and Bekmambetov have created is a treat for the eyes.

The action sequences are tightly choreographed, not to mention tense. If a little more care had been taken in crafting more interesting personalities for the protagonists, this could have been a real classic.

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TITLE: “9”

RATING: PG-13 (violence and scary images)

CREDITS: Directed by Shane Acker, written by Pamela Pettler

RUNNING TIME: 79 minutes

WEB SITE: https://9themovie.com

MAXIMUM RATING: FOUR STARS