The Nines
Metascore
52 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 12
  3. Negative: 3 out of 12
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  1. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    75
    It's an intricate, at times incoherent, but often funny and consistently fascinating trio of stories with the same actors in different but related roles.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    75
    John August directs it briskly, as a gossip-era "Twilight Zone" of image and reality.
  3. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Jamie Tipps
    70
    This movie is metaphysical fun, and while some elements are predictable, it’s an engaging mystery.
  4. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Carina Chocano
    70
    Rather than come across as fantastic or dreamlike, the stories have a vivid, hyperreal quality to them.
  5. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    63
    The payoff fizzles, but the buildup is intriguing until it topples under its own weight.
  6. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Aaron Hillis
    63
    It's an overall heady conceit about image and invention, clever and fun with compelling lead performances -- especially Reynolds, who finally gets to show some chops in a career littered with Van Wilder–grade junk.
  7. Variety
    Reviewed by: Dennis Harvey
    60
    The Nines arcs from witty Hollywood insiderdom to a climactic metaphysical leap that may leave many viewers nonplussed. Nonetheless, there's more than enough intelligence, intrigue and performance dazzle to make this an adventuresome gizmo for grownups.
  8. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Andrew O'Hehir
    50
    The movie never fails to be crisply written and cannily delivered, but it's way too steeped in TV-culture inside jokes for its own good, and August's attempts to suffuse the whole thing with ontological or theological meaning are ultimately pretty dumb.
  9. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    50
    Think of it as a kind of “Twilight Zone 2007” in which the paranoia endemic to an industry that runs on illusion, hype and extravagant grandiosity comes home to roost.
  10. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    38
    Wavers uncomfortably between satire and dime-store existentialism on the big screen. It's sort of as if Charlie Kaufman rewrote "The Fountain."
  11. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    30
    The Nines is the feature-film-directing debut from screenwriter John August (Go, Big Fish), but it feels much more like some Bizarro World collaboration between Jean-Paul Sartre and Charlie Kaufman, and not in a good way, either.
  12. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Scott Foundas
    30
    It's hardly a novel idea, but at least when Kaufman, David Lynch, or Michel Gondry invites us on a tour of his chaotic subconscious, it's a fascinating place to visit. Plunging into August's gray matter is more like a season in vacation hell.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 22 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. CJO.
    4
    Garbage. If you like video games and have two hours to waste, it's perfect for you. Ryan Reynolds does save the film however with some good acting but the story is so wacky that it makes me wonder if Hollywood writers even deserve to be considered for a raise.… Full Review »
  2. Josh
    9
    It's been a while since I've been intrigued by such an original storyline. I watch mainly Mainstream movies, so this one was a little off the beaten path for me, but was not disappointed. Worth every penny.… Full Review »
  3. Paxster
    7
    It is a clever concept but it isn't presented in the way in which it would of earned a higher rating in my book. The woman in it is especially annoying, if only the man could of used his power as a '9' to get rid of her from the beginning.… Full Review »
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