Review of The Nines

It's interesting that you some people thought this got worse as it got along, because it was the absolute opposite for me. I thought the first part was a little dull but I was hooked in by the end of it and I only got more and more curious as the film went on. John August did a very impressive job here as writer/director, successfully making three sections distinct in tone and character while also having them work together as a collective whole. This was helped by a superb performance from Ryan Reynolds, who crafted three individual characters who all felt genuine and unique, while also having them be believable as one primal being. The film as a whole was wildly entertaining and contained some very intriguing messages about identity, obsession, power and spirituality. The connections through the stories craft a wonderful puzzle, constantly having you wonder what's actually going on and what it all means.

One of the more surprising things after seeing the film, for me, was that people seem to be so confused by it. Again, going the opposite way, I found the film to be a great puzzle but the "what it all means" scene was actually too laid out. I think the whole exposition scene giving us all the answers really spoon-fed the audience and that the film would have benefited more by not giving us the answers so plainly. I've seen a decent amount of people complaining about how confusing it all is, but one of my few complaints is how plainly and easily it was explained in the end. Because for the most part it was a unique, intelligent and very mind-bending puzzle.