Rating: 
Summary: Wasted potential
Review: What hell hath Roman Polanski wrought with this laughably silly version of the novel El Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte? It's an occult thriller without thrills and while it purportedly goes for dark humor, its laughs are unintentional. The Ninth Gate stars Johnny Depp as Dean Corso, a mercenary of old, rare books who will say or do anything in order to make a lucrative deal with book collection heirs who are bereft after a family death. Into his life comes billionaire publisher and procurer of a library dedicated to Satan, Boris Balkan (Frank Langella). Balkan is the proud owner of the obscure "The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows", a manual reportedly written in collaboration with Lucifer himself. Balkan hires Corso to track down the only two other existing copies. The job descends Corso into a world of of death, greed, obsession and satanic ritual. While Depp can usually make much of little, he's out of his element here and miscast as a snake-hearted antiquarian book dealer. He's even physically wrong for the role. Polanski drenches the film with brooding decay to infer the demonic and dreaded but while his intentions are noble, the script, written by Polanski, Enrique Urbizu and John Brownjohn, has outwitted and eluded him. After a decent first half, the film slides into reminiscences of Polanski's recent, negligible films. The Ninth Gate in its second half, is but a pale reflection of old Polanski - he of Rosemary's Baby fame. A flick which chillingly explored the nature of unforseen evil, and, in the end, gave us Satan with a far more demonic and seductive sense of humor than this awful, bad joke of a film.
Rating:
Summary: Truly the Pitts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....I Was NOT Well!
Review: Okay, from the start I am going to be quite honest. I LOVE Johnny Depp and would readily watch anything he does. Roman Polanski is always interesting, at least, and with such stalwart credits as "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown", I figured, "how bad could it be?" Trust me....THAT bad. The plot was simple and interesting enough to command my attention but the storytelling could not at all keep it. I fell asleep and missed the ending and from what I understand, that did not hamper the whole film experience. Johnny Depp was gorgeous and adept and Frank Langella was sinister enough. I agree with another reviewer in that the picture set a mood and always remained on the fringes of being a thought-provoking piece of work, but, alas, fell horribly short. Of course, you must be true to your own opinions and tastes. It is worth a viewing for no other reason than it has a reputable cast and director, and is a mood piece but the bottom line is this is one to use on those nights you can't fall asleep and you don't want to use drugs of any sort. This will definitely do the trick!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: absolutely thrilling
Review: this movie certainly is worth watching, although I believe the movie is one of these which lose its grip if you watch them for a second time - or even for a third or fourth. as you might suppose from this - rent it or borrow it from a friend, but don't buy it. johnny depp is excellent, i only watched the movie because i admire depp's acting very much, but good acting - even if there is something natural about the way depp acts in his movies - is not enough to make this a view-again-movie. the script is excellent, the story gripping and absolutely thrilling, but the plot does not feature hardboiled action or something like that - the action of this movie takes place on a more intellectual, more mind-stimulationg sub-level beneath the surface of ordinary blood-n-guts-thrills. i wont go as far as saying this flick will be boring when watching for the second time, but i believe, it will totally lack the interesting, gripping aura surrounding itself when watching for the first time, because this movie just is based on elementary subjects of horror that grow stale if repeated. i only saw this movie once and i am satisfied with it, although the ending seemed to me to be an easy way to stick to a vulgar 2 hour flick - instead of trying to close the circle of the story. to me, that's the only miserable part about this movie which is -otherwise - a must see movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: There isn't a single "good" character in this video, which is why I loved it. The obligatory Hollywood love interest is Satan! What's not to love? If you're the type who roots for the bad guy in movies then buy this.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing
Review: Depp and Langela are at their best in this thriller. The plot is facinating and revealed at a slow, steady pace. At last the pieces all come together and you KNOW there is big trouble ahead. Wonderful script, excellent acting!
Rating:
Summary: Packed with Growing Unease and Impending Doom.
Review: People who see this film expecting it to be like "Sleepy Hollow" are going to be Very, Very Disappointed. "The Ninth Gate" is the Polar Opposite to "Sleepy Hollow". Both are Exceptional Horror films, both star Johnny Depp, but they are very different Horror films.There is Barely a Scene in the film that Johnny doesn't act in, the film is Entirely His. He plays David Korso, a Unscrupulous finder of Rare Books. He is commissioned by a Strange Collector (Frank Langella) to find out if his book, titled "The Ninth Gate", is genuine or fake. His search leads him to a lot of Strange Characters and a few Close Calls. The Whole film has an "Angel Heart" feel about it, and it makes a Good Companion piece to that film. The film has a Slow pace, but it Never Lags, it's not Action Packed or Full of Effects, but they Are Both There when Necessary. It's Definitely not for Everyone, you need Patience, a Good night's sleep the Night Before and a Stomach for Satanic stuff. Johnny's Understated Performance looks Utterly Effortless, He Carries this Heavy with Ease. Frank Langella is Appropriately Mysterious and Sinister in his Few scenes, every other performer in the film are limited to few scenes, but they All make the most of their time. Emmanuelle Seigner is Also Mysterious, which is probably due to the fact that she's no a very good Actress. She is Still very Sexy though. Lena Olin breaths life into the film as a Crazed Satanist, she too is quite Good Looking in the film, and she also Acts well. Ultimately, the Thesping is left up to Johnny and his performance will Make or Break the film for you. For me, it Definitely Made it. The Script is Sharp, the Dialogue is Clever, the Twists are Interesting, the Ending is one to Talk About and Ultimately, I became as Obsessed about finding the book as Johnny was.
Rating:
Summary: It's like watching paint dry
Review: I am a big fan of Roman Polanski. Even his more subtle horror films (The Tenant, Rosemary's Baby) were intriguing and well worth watching. But this lemon is not redeemable in any way shape or form. What was the purpose of the differences in the manuscripts that were literally shoved in our faces throughout the entire film? Why all the murders? Why did these people do what they were doing? Don't just throw stuff in our faces without any reason why. It was a terrific waste of an evening and take heed: stay away from this lousy film
Rating:
Summary: a fun flic
Review: uhhhh, hello? its a comedy. why does everyone seem to miss that?
Rating: 
Summary: Polanski goes back to (Old) Scratch
Review: Roman Polanski returns to some old stomping grounds, although sadly not quite back to "form". To its credit,"The Ninth Gate" does not rely on post-MTV "Scream" irony or F/X laden gore. Instead, the movie harkens back to the sort of deliberately paced gothic mystery Polanski once excelled at. Johnny Depp's performance as a chain-smoking, semi-alcoholic "rare book" expert earns the film most of its stars. Depp is hired by a mysterious rich eccentric (Frank Langella, with the ham factor cranked to "11") to authenticate a volume of satanic incantations that may or may not have been co-authored by ol' "Scratch" himself. Much silly Euro-trash themed intrigue ensues,with a denouement oddly similar to the campy "sacrificial ritual" scene in Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut". Also along the way,luscious Lena Olin manages to shed her clothing (I think it's in her contract). Polanski's wife is thrown in as a love interest, and seems as perplexed about her character's purpose as we are. Still, just involving enough to watch all the way through at least once. The enigmatic final dissolve raises more questions than it answers, but you may be just be grateful that the film DOES eventually end!
Rating: 
Summary: the synopsis was more interesting than the movie
Review: Nice idea, poorly executed. I kept waiting for something more interesting to happen... instead the story continued to drift without real purpose. The characters weren't particularly believable, or likeable, and there was a strong sense that something was missing. Like a decent script. The online editorial mentions "Polanski's languorous direction and purposefully vague story..." - as if that's a selling point.
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