Review of Nine Lives (2016) by Jason M — 10 Aug 2016

Nine Lives.

Initial Reaction: A documentary about house cats?

Main Characters.

Tom Brand: He's a very successful business owner played by Kevin Spacey.

Felix Perkins: He's the "Cat Whisperer". He's played by Christopher Walken.

Plot Summary.

With success comes a cost. For Tom, his success as a businessman means that he doesn't spend as much time with his wife and daughter as he should.

So when his daughter (Rebecca) has her birthday and asks for a cat, Tom goes to a strange cat shop and meets up with Felix. He gets a cat from Felix, but then has to head out to meet with his son - a mean partner.

The meeting is on the roof of the building Tom's working in, and there's a freaky accident. Tom falls quite a distance and goes through a large windowpane.

All of a sudden, his spirit is put into the cat's body while his body goes into a coma. And in order to get back into his own body, Tom has to reconnect with his wife and daughter or else be stuck in the cat's body forever.

SCORING.

Main Characters.

Kevin Spacey gives it all he's got. All the best jokes are from him and all the memorable bits have him in it. But I would've liked to have Felix be more than just a really creepy cat person. SCORE: 6.

Supporting Cast.

The wife and daughter are nothing more than a couple of cutouts (yes, they are that flat.) And his workers at his company are not much better. SCORE: 3.

Plot.

It's really crazy how Tom gets to be stuck in the cat's body - but it's even more ridiculous how he gets out of the predicament he's in.

Besides, this film doesn't flow smoothly at all. It stops then starts then stops again, like a story written by a committee rather than a few imaginary writers. SCORE: 3.

Originality.

Talking animals have been around for a very long time, and this film doesn't add anything new to the mix. SCORE: 3.

Violence Factor.

This film has that scene where Tom has his accident and another guy gets hit by a car (off screen of course). And there's a lot of scenes where the cat goes spat against the wall - and doesn't feel a thing. Really? SCORE: 3.

Other Moral Issues.

This film is supposed to be about the importance of family - but that message gets lost in all those rules about how Tom got to be a cat and what he has to do to get back to being a human. SCORE: 3.

Final Score (out of 60): 21 % Score: 35%.

Despite a great effort from Kevin Spacey, he's no match for a convoluted plot and unoriginal cast and bland supporting cast.