The movie is essentially about a crazy cat man who turns people he deems “bad” into cats to teach them a moral lesson of some sort. And if they don’t learn their lesson in time, well, their human bodies die and they’re stuck as cats forever. Dark.

On the production front, the animation is basic, yet the animated, computer-generated images of the cats seamlessly merge with the live action drama, which is crisp and entertaining.

As a dog person, I feel life is too short to be wasted on a catastrophe such as Nine Lives (and one puzzles over why Spacey made this choice). You might as well watch the Youtube home videos of cat tricks instead.

The CGI is blotchy, visual effects are terribly unconvincing, the humor is potty and the gimmickry is knotty- so there’s really very little relief for adults and maybe just a smidgen of pet antics that might interest children.

A crisis of tone permeates much of Nine Lives: it recognises itself as a children’s film and yet, most of it is immensely morose.

It is a desperate attempt at making the audience laugh.

Despite the collaboration between celebrated cinematographer (Raising Arizona)-turned-director Barry Sonnenfeld (the Men In Black trilogy) and two Academy Award-winning actors (Spacey and Walken,) Nine Lives fails to ignite even the smallest of comedic sparks.

Based on the myth that a cat has nine lives, this film makes a flawed attempt, to make you realise that you’re not a cat who’s blessed enough to have nine lives but a mere human with one life to reconcile all that you’ve done wrong and to live it happily with your loved ones.

You might want to watch this film only and only if you’re a die-hard cat person.

Over all, Nine Lives is a light film that would appeal to feline lovers and amuse little kids to distraction.

The only big takeaway from Nine Lives is that director Sonnenfeld has actually managed to outdo the awfulness of Wild Wild West in a spectacular fashion. Had this film advertised and released with the likes of Sharknado it would have been hailed as a classic of Z grade movie-making, but presented as a summer comedy it’s more turgid than entertaining.

Barry Sonnenfeld’s Nine Lives is catnip for followers of such twenty-first century personages as Maru and Lil Bub, and perhaps only the most ardent feline fans will find Tom Brand’s adventures, funny, insightful, or even halfway engaging.

The movie was made for some light-hearted fun and entertainment, and it gives you just that. Do not go expecting some mind-blowing performance or out-of-this-world action. Just play along with the kitty!

This is a simple movie, with a simple little moral and not one to be dissected and examined frame by frame. There is humour, there is fun and Nine Lives is honestly, quite enjoyable. It will put a smile on your face.