'9' review

"9" (Credit: Focus)

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The machines and humans have gone to war, and humans lost. (Nice call, "Terminator" series.) Yet the battle rages on between the giant, evil robots and small, peaceful creatures with numbers for names (like 9, 7 and 5) and appearances that look like the product of Wall-E mating with some burlap sacks.

The buzz: Not affiliated with "District 9" or the upcoming musical "Nine," this animated action flick is expanded from director Shane Acker's awesome, dialogue-free 2005 Oscar-nominated short. The PG-13 movie looks unique and clearly isn't meant for little ones, but there's nothing surprising about the inevitable, very phoned-in celeb voice work from Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly and Christopher Plummer.

The verdict: The movie is so plotless and the numerical characters have so little personality you'll wish 8, 6, 7, 5, 3 and 9 would just line up so they could call Jenny and ask her for some more story ideas. There isn't even any exploration of the technology-is-dangerous themes. "9" may have a world that appeals to the eyes, but such a bland fight for survival leaves your brain feeling really, really left out.

Did you know? 9 (Wood) has a big zipper down his chest. Gotta be grateful that when you gain weight it's not as obvious as the guy who can no longer zip up his stomach.

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