9Movie Reviews

Poster art for "9."

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 60 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
12 OK for kids 12+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 88
    Boston Globe | Wesley Morris

    Any optimism in 9, which is bound to try the fortitude of meeker children, feels hard-won. It actually ends in a bittersweet mystery. Read full review

  • 83
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Storyboarded with precision, and enhanced with a resonant score by Deborah Lurie, Acker's handsome, feature-length 9 is, for all its visual flights of fancy, grounded in an apocalypse-proof message graspable by any schoolchild. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    Taking your very small child to this movie is only a slightly better idea than a trip to "The Final Destination." With that warning out of the way, this action adventure is a big treat for more mature animation and science-fiction fans and a triumph for the young director. Read full review

  • 75
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    The best reason to see it is simply because of the creativity of its visuals. They're entrancing. Read full review

  • 70
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    Every effort to expand the range of feature-length animation beyond the confines of cautious family fare is to be welcomed, and budding techno and fantasy geeks are likely to be intrigued and enthralled. Read full review

  • 63
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    I only wish this richly imaginative movie had stayed truer to the dark heart of its visuals. Read full review

  • 60
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Design aspects are arresting and the filmmaker's abilities are obvious, but the basic survival story remains slight, just as the general setting, no matter how artfully imagined, is by now pretty familiar. Read full review

  • 60
    Washington Post |

    Does 9 rival last year's "Wall E" as the best post-apocalyptic "cartoon"? The short answer is Nein. 9 is, however, a visual stunner. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    9 never adds up to much. It's a dark adult film that gives itself over to the chases and frights of a kiddie movie. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Long on imaginative design but less substantial in narrative, this dreary story of fighting the power is more numbing than thought-provoking. Read full review

View more reviews for 9 on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 12+ Visually stunning but scary fantasy for older tweens and up.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this dark, futuristic Tim Burton-produced fantasy may be animated, but it's not meant for younger kids. Violence and scary scenes are prevalent throughout the film, with the main characters frequently battling killer robotic machines -- which are merciless as they pursue (and, in several cases, kill) their ragdoll-like prey in frightening ways. The robots also make alarming noises and often pop up out of the blue. Dead human bodies are shown briefly, but there's no gore. On the up side, despite the movie's ominous tone and frequent peril and violence, there's no language, drinking, consumerism, or sexual content.
  • Families can talk about the movie's violence and scary scenes. Is it any less scary because humans aren't involved, or is it still intense?
  • What is the movie saying about technology? Is technology portrayed negatively in other films?
  • Who do you think the movie's intended audience is? Do you think young kids will want to see it?
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: Despite its often-bleak tone and some conflict among the characters, the movie's overwhelming messages are about banding together to battle evil, not leaving anyone behind, redemption, and self sacrifice for the greater good. As in the Terminator movies, there's a clear caution about giving too much power to machines/technology. There's also a spiritual undertone to some parts of the movie, especially in regards to how the main characters came to be.
  • rolemodels true3 Positive role models: The character 9 is resourceful, selfless, and brave from the start. He inspires the rest of his kind to band together and fight against the machines. The 7 character, who is female, is a fierce, independent warrior. Leader 1 is initially resistant to change, curiosity, and risk, but he sees the error of his ways in the end.
What to watch for
  • violence false4 Violence: Several scenes of frightening machines attacking and, in several cases, killing the main character's friends. Although the battles are between ragdoll-like creatures and robots instead of humans and aren't gory, they can be quite intense and scary. There are also disturbing images of a machine being beheaded, characters having their life force sucked out of them, explosions, and other moments of intense, suspenseful peril. Dead human bodies are shown briefly, including a mother and child, and flashbacks and newsreel footage show an intense battle between people and rampaging machines. Weapons include spears and, in the flashback sequences, guns and chemical bombs.
  • sex false0 Sex: Not an issue
  • language false0 Language: Not an issue
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false0 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Not an issue
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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