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9 | 2009 | PG-13 | - 1.5.0

After the world has been destroyed by a war between humans and man-made machines, all that remains are a handful of beings that try to understand the world they have inherited. With the voices of Alan Oppenheimer, Tom Kane, Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connelly, Fred Tatasciore and Elijah Wood. Directed by Shane Acker. [1:19]

SEX/NUDITY 1 - A male and a female being hug.
 Several female statues are shown to have carved dress fabric that clings and drapes over the breasts and is cut high on the thigh.

VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - The beings vary in size and shapes, but they resemble rag dolls made of cloth, with metallic pieces to resemble fingers, and eyes that blink like camera shutters. One being is quite large and carries a long bladed weapon (this one seems to act as a thug for the leader of the beings).
 In several scenes we see beings held in an energy beam that shoots them in the eyes and mouth with a bright ray, the beings dangle lifeless, then fall to the ground in a heap and the eyes and mouth (now empty holes) smolder and we see what is referred to as their souls in a containment field inside a large machine while other beings watch in horror.
 Two beings find another being that is locked in a large cage and guarded by a large creature with big teeth; the creature lunges at the beings, and a being lunges at the creature and lops its head off with a blade (we hear a "schwing" and see the head drop off; there's no blood).
 A huge creature rises up (it resembles a snake with a skull inside it), lunges at several beings, grabs one and prepares to tear it in half but does not. A flying machine that resembles a Pterodactyl flies through a window, slashes at several beings, one is thrown, they run and the machine follows them; the beings run onto a rooftop, one being throws a blade into the machine's fan, it flounders but continues to fly, and then the machine falls into the blades of a fan and it is destroyed (we see the blades braking up the machinery); a being nearly falls in too.
 A huge machine lifts off the ground and moves toward three beings that run away: one is nearly crushed by heavy metal that is thrown, one being dangles from a plank, and two others run through a dark tunnel while the machine growls like an animal. A man is struck by energy beams, twitches and falls dead to the ground. While trying to fight several beings a machine builds other, smaller machines to attack them in different ways; one has sharp blades. We see several war scenes that depict enormous machines firing at men and beings; we see men and beings being thrown into the air and rubble spraying around.
 We hear animal-like noises coming from the distance and moving closer to two beings: one being holding a spear-like weapon is struck by a large, skeletal looking creature called "the beast" (it has feline features and roars); the creature grabs the being in its mouth, it moans and is carried away.
 Many machines charge out of an underground area, a large barrel of flammable liquid rolls toward them, and it explodes destroying many of the machines. A machine chases several beings across a bridge, the bridge breaks out from under the machine, the machine falls, and it is destroyed. A machine flips heavy machinery into the air and toward several beings, and it blows fire into a hole where the beings are hiding and a few are injured. A machine falls into the cogs of another machine and is crushed (we see the pieces fall to the floor).
 We see a being with a damaged arm and what looks like blood on the wound. We see a being with only one eye and a patch over what should be the other; we later see that the eye was lost when machines attacked the being. A being explores a laboratory and finds a man lying dead on the floor (we see the man in a decaying state with ashen skin). We see a woman and child dead in a burned out car. A dead being is wrapped in cloth, placed on a float and pushed into a body of water.
 A being hears noises while investigating a bombed out building, it picks up a metal bar, swings it at something and strikes it, but it is another being that falls to the ground (it's OK). A large being with a bladed weapon grabs two smaller beings, shoves them into a bucket in a threatening manner and they are lifted into the air.
 A cannon is fired at a machine and there are large explosions. Blinds are opened to reveal a large city in rubble.
 A being hangs by one hand from a string; it falls to the ground and stumbles around. A being breaks through wooden floorboards (he is pulled out and unharmed). We see several souls float into the sky. We see a piece of cloth being stitched with a needle and thread into what looks like a doll; the man doing the stitching then inserts two metallic eyes and what looks like there's a gear inside.
 A being says, "The gas killed everything and the world became silent"

LANGUAGE 0 - Name-calling (illiterate coward, fool).

SUBSTANCE USE - None.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - War, technology, greed, progress, humanity, leadership, questioning authority, fear, salvation of civilization, chaos, grief, death of friends, corruption, man vs. machines, sacrificing one of the good of many.

MESSAGE - The blind pursuit of technology without thought about the consequences on humanity can lead to destruction.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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