Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Nine for IX: The Diplomat (2013) *** (out of 4) Good documentary in ESPN's Nine for IX series takes a look at gold medal winner Katarina Witt who became East Germany's best known and most loved figure skater but once the height of the Cold War came around she found herself being hated by many for special gifts she was able to get while being an athlete. I had never heard of Witt before watching this documentary so I was learning all of these stories for the first time and there's no question that it's easy to see why she would be so popular back in the day. There was of course the obvious talent but then there's the fact that she was an incredibly beautiful woman, which also helped her. The main focus of this documentary is how Witt became a star thanks to her looks and talent but there's also the look at East Germany and how they almost kept Witt from reaching her full goal. The film isn't as great as one would hope because it does seem to lose focus at times. Is this meant to be about Witt or East Germany? The stuff dealing with East Germany would need its own documentary and trying to cram everything into 45-minutes just isn't going to work. Witt is on hand for the interviews and she still comes across incredibly charming and getting to hear about these experiences from her makes this worth watching.