Variety by Todd McCarthy

Sophisticated, sexy and stylishly decked out, Rob Marshall's disciplined, tightly focused film impresses and amuses.

Empire by Alastair Plumb

Though slightly marred by a clunky structure and a lack of truly catchy tunes, Nine’s wall-to-wall first-rate performances from its stellar cast (especially Cotillard) add a touch of class.

Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern

The carnival is loud, brash, brassy, sexy and sometimes tacky or silly, but always entertaining.

Rolling Stone by Peter Travers

Rob Marshall's flawed but frequently dazzling Nine is a hot-blooded musical fantasia full of song, dance, raging emotion and simmering sexuality.

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

Despite following its stage inspiration and bringing structure to Fellini's "8 1/2" (the ultimate source material), Nine still suffers at times from a lack of narrative drive and it doesn't have the surreal, dreamlike quality of "8 1/2" to fall back upon.

Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer

Deft and fast-moving, but shouldn’t a musical have at least a few songs you can hum on your way home?

St. Louis Post-Dispatch by Joe Williams

As much Fosse as Fellini. It’s a shadow of a shadow, refracted through a fun-house mirror. For all the noise and color, it feels like an exercise and not a natural expression.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Carrie Rickey

A spectacle where A-list talent strives mightily to elevate a C-plus effort.

Charlotte Observer by Lawrence Toppman

It seems perverse to say a musical is at its best when nobody is singing, but Nine is a perverse kind of musical.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips

The movie is shot and edited like a two-hour trailer for itself. As such, it's not hard to take, but you do tend to wonder when the film itself is going to start.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

The magic simply isn't there.

The A.V. Club by Keith Phipps

A joyless trudge, particularly when compared to Fellini’s vibrant original?

The New Yorker by Anthony Lane

One is forced to ask: who wants to make, or watch, a major Hollywood musical about mental block?

The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt

The disappointments here are many, from a starry cast the film ill-uses to flat musical numbers that never fully integrate into the dramatic story. The only easy prediction is that Nine is not going to revive the slumbering musical-film genre.

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

The numbers, while lively, remain cluttered and stage-bound. The women, however, are spirited and sexy.

Time Out by Keith Uhlich

Let’s not dance around it: Nine--is a dud.

Village Voice

Wisely keeping her distance, Cotillard mostly lurks along the sidelines projecting a wounded visage, before finally stepping into the spotlight for the movie's single moment of emotional sincerity. It's the only point at which Nine seems more than a total zero.