 "EYE-ROLLING STUPIDITY 4 OUT OF 10" | 2009-11-15 |
| - Reviewed By nuttybuddy6 |
You'd think a film about finding the gateway to Hell might be interesting, but no. The Ninth Gate is a disastrous film and is a film I'm sure Johnny Depp would rather forget. This is probably one of the dumbest (And most boring) religious thrillers ever made. It's inconsistent, jumbled, confused, and not quite sure what it wants to be. Here's my opinion for why I think you should keep this gate closed.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) is a man who is hired by avid book collectors to track down rare books and investigate their authenticity. He is then hired by a man named Boris Balkan who wants him to investigate the authenticity of a book he recently acquired that supposedly can conjure the devil and open the gateway to Hell. So he gives Dean Corso the book and sends him to Portugal and France to compare it with two other copies that are about the same topic, but have different things about them such as differences in pictures. But then people start dropping dead around Corso, and someone is out to kill him and get the book. Along his journey to finding out the mystery to the Ninth Gate, he meets a mysterious woman who seems to have powers (I couldn't help but shake my head when there were scenes in which she glides down to Corso). Together they are taken on a dangerous journey full of mystery, deceit, and devil worship. The story doesn't go anywhere interesting and you're left bored senseless at the ridiculous plot.
MUSIC: This is one of the only areas of the film that actually worked. The musical score was decent and it seemed to fit the mood for the most part, but it was kind of dreary and dull at times.
ACTION: This film is very dull. This film can't seem to decide what it wants to be. Sometimes it tries to be a thriller. Sometimes a horror film. Sometimes a mystery. Sometimes it tries to be action. Sometimes it tries to be suspense. The problem here is the fact that none of these areas work. This in turn, turns the film into a garbled and inconsistent mess. It doesn't work as a thriller because well, there is nothing thrilling about it. It's not horror because it just isn't scary at all. It's not mystery because it's a cliched mess in which it doesn't take all that much time to figure out whose behind it. It's not action because it's badly done and full of terrible fight scenes. Then it doesn't work as suspense because you're never afraid (Not to mention excited) about what comes next because you already know what's going to happen. Let's also not forget this film features some of the most pointless sex/nude scenes I've ever seen. They are not done tastefully and they are laughable. Sadly, you can't pull a "so bad it's good" value out of this film, so don't even try.
ACTING: Johnny Depp is a good actor in most of his films, but he clearly dropped the ball in this film. He looked and sounded bored through the entire film as if wondering to himself, "Why the hell am I even here? I was in Sleepy Hollow and Edward Scissorhands, dammit! Is this what I've reduced myself to?" The other actors don't fare any better and are actually worse. Many of the actors seem comatose in their roles and display no emotion or believability. Then when the villains get into worshiping Satan you can't help but mock them because it's completely ridiculous and certainly in no way terrifying. When the actors do try and display emotion, they come off as a complete joke. Casting mishaps are aplenty in this film. But then again, I don't know whether I should blame the actors or the script, or maybe both. Still, this area is a complete mess.
OVERALL: While it may have a few interesting scenes and decent music, that will never excuse how bad of a mess this film is. It tries to be too many things at one, and it doesn't succeed at any of the genres it tries to be. It's a dreadfully dull film with no mystery or intrigue because you can always guess what happens next thanks to the terrible, cliched script. It has no good acting and you won't care about what happens to any of these people. A dull and thoroughly un-thrilling religious thriller that's also emotionally removed. Skip it.
THE GOOD: A few interesting scenes and decent music.
THE BAD: Terrible script, bad acting, it's dull and slow-moving, no scares, no mystery, no thrills, no cool action moments, and it's definitely not suspenseful. |
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 "Definitely NOT for Bibliophiles" | 2009-11-10 |
| - Reviewed By keehn9 |
The plot looked good, the cast was promissing and Polanski (despite his self-made problems) is an excellent director. So what could go wrong? Well, I'm probably too practical for my own good but I could never accept the maaner in which the book trader handled the rare books he came into contact with (and that was happening throughout the movie). It was like they were cheap paperback editions of last year's bestsellers. My first shock was his associate's Rare Book Store that was below street level. What would happen in case of a lengthy downpore?!!? No one would place such valued tomes in such fragile confines. Next I noticed that he didn't use gloves when handling the books or when turning the pages (he didn't even wash his hands). He carries around one of three existing 18th Century (or was it older) books in a canvas satchel. I noticed in the pouring rain he still had the satchel nonchalantly swinging by his side. As the movie contined, he would smoke cigarettes while leafing through the pages and studying the various etchings. It was too much for me. ARGGHH! Oh, by the way, the devil MAY have made him do it but that's still no excuse.
OK, OK! Too many silly details blot out an "exciting" movie. Maybe so but I've always appreciated the attention to detail that the better films can claim credit for. Such sloppiness isn't Roman Polanski; it's Ed Wood. |
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| "I rate the product, not the movie" | 2009-09-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2VZHVWBWRLZRS |
| In my case, I bought The ninth gate because I saw it many times and I have the original Book, El Club Dumas, the story catch you and make you feel like Lucas Corso... mistery, suspense, history, romance, humor... BUT, I need the DVD with spanish subtitles to share the movie with my family and TREE TIMES I receive it without subtitles, it's too bad wait for a wrong product... tree times. But for the movie, I give five stars, excellent. |
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 "ninth gate review" | 2009-09-20 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1HG1MU1HPY6AM |
| The movie was excellent. Two things I would do to make it more realistic are: Actors should wear gloves when handling the books. One would NEVER smoke when handling a rare book. |
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| "Good until the end" | 2009-09-07 |
| - Reviewed By xcfgsdfg |
| TNG is a subtle (and obviously low-budget) film. No special effects. No demons or monsters. A "Constantine" this is not. At over two hours, it was rather long but the plot was interesting enough to keep me watching. A lot of that is thanks to Depp; I thought he did a great job. The ending, however, was rather lame; not what I had expected after investing 2+ hours in the movie. This could have been a good film but the ending was badly handled. If you already like occult films, then this will probably be o.k. If not, you probably don't want to invest your time and money in this one... |
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 "9th GATE Polanski" | 2009-08-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: ASJ54MITON1NO |
| Not quite as successful as Rosemary's Baby, but sort of the same subject matter. Polanski wasn't exactly satisfied with Depp's performance, but nonetheless the film seemed to work despite this. Released in 1999, before THE PIANIST, which was generally also a better film. |
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