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Posted : 8 years, 10 months ago on 6 July 2015 08:37
I already saw this movie but since it was such a long time ago, I was quite eager to check it out again. As a matter of fact, I actually saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it was released. Anyway, it tends to be considered as a minor effort in Roman Polanski’s career. Eventually, I have to admit it, compared to his numerous masterpieces, it was nothing really amazing. In fact the first time around, I was above all disappointed by the ending. Still, I always had a weak spot for the damned thing and, in spite of its flaws, it was actually fairly entertaining. Basically, it is some kind of mix of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ with ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and even though this mix might sound rather misguided, I thought it was actually an intriguing tale. On top of that, Johnny Depp, who was at the time such a fun actor to watch, did deliver a solid performance. Still, even though I did like his character, his biggest motivation was money throughout the whole duration but, suddenly, during the 3rd act, he started to get obsessed with this book as well which didn’t really work in my opinion. To be honest, it is probably one of the silliest movies delivered by Polanski and, to enjoy it, it all depends on how much slack you are willing to give this movie. Anyway,to conclude, I think it is still a decent paranormal thriller and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Roman Polanski’s work.
The Ninth Gate Reviews
The Ninth Gate review
Posted : 12 years, 5 months ago on 20 November 2011 03:56
La curiosidad, el querer saber del mal, cuando no se esta preparado para ello puede ser el fin o el comienzo, siempre he dicho que uno debe conocer de las obras y armas y herramientas del mal, solo conocer para evitar no para usar, porque el mal consume más rapido la esencia de la personas que un virus
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Flawed but effective.
Posted : 16 years ago on 23 April 2008 09:00
"Nothing is more reliable than a man whose loyalties can be bought with hard cash."
I picked up a copy of The Ninth Gate and viewed it solely for the presence of Johnny Depp.
Depp is an accomplished actor whom I admire. He always chooses his film roles with great care; hence I was ambitious to see this one.
Roman Polanski is also an acclaimed director who has been at the helm of many classic films. Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby are among his best work. For this genre, Polanski was in his element; a demons and angels oriented horror film with strong themes of satanic rituals and gothic mystery.
Dean Corso (Depp) is a cynical, morally corrupt rare book hunter with a strong reputation for recovering rare books. Corso soon becomes involved with demonologist Boris Balkan (Langella). Balkan is a man who owns one of the three surviving copies of a piece of text supposedly written by the devil several centuries ago. He pays Corso to seek out the final two surviving copies of this piece of text in order to verify which copy is genuine.
During Corso's travels he realises that he is involved in a conspiracy that also involves a group of enigmatic individuals who are leaving many people dead.
The plot is original; and only someone like Polanski would agree to get behind the camera on this sort of a project. The atmosphere is chilling and sometimes terrifying. This is to be expected in a Polanski horror movie. But the final 5 minutes destroy the whole experience. It was so sudden, so weird, so unexpected. It offers no explanation to the events that have just unfolded, instead completely losing the plot and ending it with some weird nonsensical religious mumbo jumbo that doesn't make a lick of sense. I was none the wiser as to what was occurring during those final minutes. I wish Polanski hacked this atrocious ending out of the movie because it would have done some good.
There are no surprises in saying that Johnny Depp's performance was incredible. Although working with some shockingly bad material towards the ending he never breaks focus; instead continuing the meek, confused, almost clueless character that he was when the film opened. Depp never plays the same kind of character twice. This is a great career move because therefore he is never typecast. If he played the same character for most of his movies then the concept of a book detective would confuse the audience. He skilfully proves accomplished when any role is thrown in his direction. Depp looked so adorable during some of his scenes.
Direction from Roman Polanski was exceptional. For scenes that required it, Polanski was very artistic and created an atmosphere that is both moody and eerie. He presented the audience with an encyclopaedic arrangement of filming techniques, both old and new, assembled by a master of his craft.
The build up to the disappointing climax was slow but intriguing. Each new clue leaves us guessing until the end when all is revealed (although not conclusively).
The Ninth Gate was a good vehicle for Johnny Depp to nail yet another character. It's a good thriller that is vastly flawed, albeit entertaining. Worth seeing for Depp aficionados.
I picked up a copy of The Ninth Gate and viewed it solely for the presence of Johnny Depp.
Depp is an accomplished actor whom I admire. He always chooses his film roles with great care; hence I was ambitious to see this one.
Roman Polanski is also an acclaimed director who has been at the helm of many classic films. Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby are among his best work. For this genre, Polanski was in his element; a demons and angels oriented horror film with strong themes of satanic rituals and gothic mystery.
Dean Corso (Depp) is a cynical, morally corrupt rare book hunter with a strong reputation for recovering rare books. Corso soon becomes involved with demonologist Boris Balkan (Langella). Balkan is a man who owns one of the three surviving copies of a piece of text supposedly written by the devil several centuries ago. He pays Corso to seek out the final two surviving copies of this piece of text in order to verify which copy is genuine.
During Corso's travels he realises that he is involved in a conspiracy that also involves a group of enigmatic individuals who are leaving many people dead.
The plot is original; and only someone like Polanski would agree to get behind the camera on this sort of a project. The atmosphere is chilling and sometimes terrifying. This is to be expected in a Polanski horror movie. But the final 5 minutes destroy the whole experience. It was so sudden, so weird, so unexpected. It offers no explanation to the events that have just unfolded, instead completely losing the plot and ending it with some weird nonsensical religious mumbo jumbo that doesn't make a lick of sense. I was none the wiser as to what was occurring during those final minutes. I wish Polanski hacked this atrocious ending out of the movie because it would have done some good.
There are no surprises in saying that Johnny Depp's performance was incredible. Although working with some shockingly bad material towards the ending he never breaks focus; instead continuing the meek, confused, almost clueless character that he was when the film opened. Depp never plays the same kind of character twice. This is a great career move because therefore he is never typecast. If he played the same character for most of his movies then the concept of a book detective would confuse the audience. He skilfully proves accomplished when any role is thrown in his direction. Depp looked so adorable during some of his scenes.
Direction from Roman Polanski was exceptional. For scenes that required it, Polanski was very artistic and created an atmosphere that is both moody and eerie. He presented the audience with an encyclopaedic arrangement of filming techniques, both old and new, assembled by a master of his craft.
The build up to the disappointing climax was slow but intriguing. Each new clue leaves us guessing until the end when all is revealed (although not conclusively).
The Ninth Gate was a good vehicle for Johnny Depp to nail yet another character. It's a good thriller that is vastly flawed, albeit entertaining. Worth seeing for Depp aficionados.
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The Ninth Gate review
Posted : 16 years, 6 months ago on 28 October 2007 08:44
It was good. No, it was great. I just was kind of expecting more from a Johnny Depp movie.
The plot was original and creepy. Not so much scary, but it was more a thriller and had a spooky vibe to it. Basically Dean Corso, a rare book hunter who is hired by a demonologist to track down the other two remaining copies of a book he owns to examine them and authenticate his copy. Little does he know that these owners are involved in a conspiracy which leaves many people dead and Dean Corso to find out exactly is going on and what the book can really do.
Johnny Depp was perfect for his role, he always is. But unlike some of his other films such as Sleepy Hollow or Secret Window, it doesn't have that little bit of humor that he brings to most of these types of films. He still acted brilliantly though, and the other actors were mediocre. Nothing too special at all, Johnny Depp after all was the reason I watched this in the first place, so luckily he didn't disappoint me.
What I'm trying to say is you really should see this, its a great thriller that keeps you guessing what's really happening. The ending was sudden, I expected to see more but I think it was good in a way that you're left with thoughts about what really happened after the film finishes. This is definitely worth watching!
The plot was original and creepy. Not so much scary, but it was more a thriller and had a spooky vibe to it. Basically Dean Corso, a rare book hunter who is hired by a demonologist to track down the other two remaining copies of a book he owns to examine them and authenticate his copy. Little does he know that these owners are involved in a conspiracy which leaves many people dead and Dean Corso to find out exactly is going on and what the book can really do.
Johnny Depp was perfect for his role, he always is. But unlike some of his other films such as Sleepy Hollow or Secret Window, it doesn't have that little bit of humor that he brings to most of these types of films. He still acted brilliantly though, and the other actors were mediocre. Nothing too special at all, Johnny Depp after all was the reason I watched this in the first place, so luckily he didn't disappoint me.
What I'm trying to say is you really should see this, its a great thriller that keeps you guessing what's really happening. The ending was sudden, I expected to see more but I think it was good in a way that you're left with thoughts about what really happened after the film finishes. This is definitely worth watching!
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