The Spirit Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES
Down these mean streets a man must come. A hero born, murdered, and born again.
My city screams. She is my lover. And I am her spirit.
I'm gonna kill you all kinds of dead.
Face my power.
Down these mean streets a man must come. A hero born, murdered, and born again. When a Rookie cop named Denny Colt returns from the beyond as The Spirit, a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces from the shadows of Central City. The Octopus who kills anyone unfortunate enough to see his face who has other plans. He's going to wipe out the entire city. The Spirit tracks this cold hearted killer from the city's rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill the masked crusader.
| Gabriel Macht | The Spirit, Denny Colt |
| Scarlett Johansson | Silken Floss |
| Samuel L. Jackson | The Octopus |
| Eva Mendes | Sand Saref |
| Jaime King | Lorelei Rox |
| Michael-David Aragon | Paramedic #1 |
| William Arute | Forensic Officer |
| Eric Balfour | Mahmoud |
| Frank Bond | Doorman #2 |
| Chad Brummett | Reporter |
| Burly Cain | SWAT Officer |
| Hugh Elliot | Doorman #3 |
| Dan Gerrity | Det. Sussman |
| Al Goto | Chinese Poker Player |
| Frank Miller |
5.10 out of 10 (8654 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Why did it even being shown in cinemas?
posted on 30 Aug 2009I thought it was a great movie when i saw the preview on TV. I was deeply turned down and felt awfully disappointed when i sat in the cinema for the first 15 minutes.The plot is very indirect and you'll only know what the character wants in the next half part of the movie. The first half part of the movie was totally meaningless. Even though you do feel like watching "sin city", do not believe what your eyes have seen. It was never like the sin city.This movie most probably is the lousiest movie that i've ever seen in my life. I thought some others are lousy in my eye until i watched this one. I wonder why this story has made into such a trash movie. I seriously hope it will win the "RAZZIE AWARD" of 2008. I couldn't believe i spent my allowance to watch such a terrible movie. I wouldn't watch it in the theater or rent a DVD or whatever that has to do with this movie if i were you.Watching this movie is probably because of the famous cast (samuel l. Jackson, Eva Mendez and Scarlett Johanson). They do have weird and funny appearances but I think it is probably the script requirements. I wouldn't judge them based on their acting in this movie because they are already famous and are acknowledged for their works in the past.I comment on this movie with very strong feelings because it is one of the awful, terrible movies i have watched in my 17 years of life. I never felt this awkward before after watching any under average movies or TV series. I would rate this 0/10 if there is such ratings.
For those tired of whiners:
posted on 28 Aug 2009COME ON IT WAS FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please. Stop obsessing over your failed expectations and admit it: Samuel L. Jackson doing a Fearless Leader impersonation was totally worth it. The cheesy old-style detective narration was hilarious and well suited and did not take itself too seriously. The skirt-chasing Spirit was at least likable. The women were amazing. The jumping foot was hilarious. You can tell everyone making the movie had fun! So give up and have fun with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are we so obsessed with people's previous works that when they attempt to even remotely stray from them we do nothing but slam them... I think in all fairness, people deserve this film from Frank Miller. They deserve to be failed in their desire for an action packed blood bath. I went in thinking "It's Frank Miller, it will be pretty." I was satisfied. I enjoyed the film because I wanted to. I didn't feel let down by a lacking blood bath or a cheesy script. I simply accepted that hey--here's something one of my favorite directors wanted to show us, let's see what he got. I enjoyed it because it was an enjoyable film. I didn't let the break from traditional style ruin the movie for me. I just sat back and enjoyed the ten bucks I spent.
Silly; one can only hope it was meant to be a comedy
posted on 28 Aug 2009*4.5/10 I hate to be a hater, believe me. But the only thing I can hopefully gather from the Spirit is that it's meant to be a comedy, or that Miller was simply aiming to make one of those so-bad-it's-good type of films. That's all I gather, and I hope that's the case, because there's no way, I emphasize, absolutely no way this can be taken seriously.Great scenery, beautiful cinematography is present, but not much else is. Tarantino has been known to write dialogue that's so oddball that it's iconic for such, but there isn't really much of a word for what The Spirit's dialogue is. It's so cheesy, not even Snakes on a Plane kind of cheesy where it's so cheesy that you know it's intentional and you kind of grow fond of it, cheesy as in cringe-worthy and you frantically wonder if it was meant to be taken seriously, that which we may never know.Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendez and Scarlett Johansson are all very good at acting, and before you flame, yes, I do think Eva Mendez is a good actress. But not even they could make the laughable dialogue and comical over-the-top violence work, or be coherent. If you can be forgiving, you'll be able to hope the scenes with Eva Mendez's naked backside might redeem it for you, for some, that might go a long way, for others, not as much. There's hardly any character in the characters, I think Roger Ebert was correct when he said the characters are very hollow, and in most senses so is the movie.From what I could gather, The Spirit and Samuel L. Jackson's character become enemies after Samuel L. gave Denny Colt the ability to live again and become The Spirit, which led to them being...enemies. A good but flawed premise, perhaps, executed extremely poorly with bad dialogue, bad acting, but at the same time, if you can enjoy it as a comedy, you might find it to be so bad it's relatively entertaining.
Awesome movie
posted on 28 Aug 2009I seen the movie now 4 times, The first time i watch it, my first impression was that i was not really entertained because its confusing for a human being because we want to understand whats now really happen or what is meant with the storyline. But if your open you mind and your soul look to the aspects of life, in the context what is good and what is wrong, The evil and the hero...love and lost the love of your life, feelings and emotions. You can see some really funny details. Second time i watched it under influence of mushrooms i was overwhelmed with how this movie is created and how the artwork is done. You must be really creative and and have a open mind to make such a movie. So i can only say this, it is in my opinion not the worst movie ever, even in some ways it was perfect... I love it and for all that going to watch it, find your own spirit and then go watch this movie.Life is just a ride, and when we ride enjoy what you see enjoy the ride. peace robin
Was pretty good if I must say
posted on 26 Aug 2009This movie was pretty good. There i said it. A lot of people were questioning Samuel Jackson as to being the villain. I thought he did a great job. The visual effects were great. Lots of similarities with this and sin city but this was a different film in terms of genre. It seemed like they tried to make it cheesy and dark at the same time. I think they pulled it off.At first the fight scene at the beginning looked like the movie was going to be bad when Samuel Jackson and the Spirit were talking, and saying cheesy things. But after that the movie picked up its socks and turned out very well.Good acting, cool fight scenes, and I don't know what it is with the color of the film but it makes all the women look so perfect and pretty like a model. Which i thought was really cool.Overall 8/10 defiantly see it.Lukas Macmillan
boe_dye sez: kinda like a campy version of Sin City.
posted on 24 Aug 2009I will admit that I was just a bit disappointed in the film. What I was expecting was a bit more gritty type of feel, similar to Sin City. Stylistically it was certainly there, however there was just a bit too much campiness for my tastes.Without a doubt everything that was done, was done intentionally. Every scene, every bit of dialogue was hammed up like a Christmas dish.And while it wasn't a bad film, it wasn't a great film either.Think Sin City meets Adam West's Batman.It followed like a pulp novel, which is what fans of Frank Miller have come to expect.But at the same time, the over acting stage play style really started to get annoying after a while.It also seemed that it could have been about 30 minutes shorter then what it really was. An hour and Forty Three minutes was just a bit overkill for this particular film.And while I did see it in theatres, I have no desire to really see it again, and when it does comes out on DVD it wont have a place on my shelf until a couple of years from now when it makes its way into the bargain bin.As my final word, it was enjoyable for a nice Christ-Mass day treat with my wife and Secret Agent J, but other then that it wasn't anything special.However it would have probably been a bit more enjoyable had it not been for all of the stupid, moronic, rude as hell people texting on their cell phones, and the one inconsiderate chippy who actually had the nerve to take a call at the Cinemark located in Center TWP Pennsylvania during the 9:55 showing on Christ-Mass Day.From here on out, I am going to invest in a laser pen and just shine light into every cell phone I see blinking on and off in a pitch dark theatre...
Why This Movie Sucks
posted on 24 Aug 2009Denny Colt is shot dead, yet is brought back from the afterlife and uses his new abilities to fight the evil in Central City. First on his list, is The Octopus. No, not a giant Octopus that attacks the city, just an angry black man who has 8 of everything.The Spirit is yet another comic book adaptation, this time it's Frank Miller behind the camera in his first solo effort. He was given a directing credit on Sin City, but after watching this film, I wonder how much influence he had on that one. He clearly shows that he doesn't have the knack for keeping an audience's attention or even entertained in the slightest. The Spirit is a mess of horrible acting, bad plotting and stale dialogue that will make you want to vomit. The fight scenes are horribly done and the film as a whole feels empty.Where does this film succeed? Well, in two places. One it has a nude backside shot of Eva Mendes and two, it is visually pleasing to the eye. Yet these two things do not equal a good film. First, you need a story and this one is hastily thrown together that you never are given a chance to care. We are introduced to our main character, The Spirit as he runs across the rooftops monologuing about how he is in love with the city, his city. He saves a girl, beats up some bad guys and during the fight we discover he apparently cannot be killed. Hmm, that seems to take away all the dramatic tension one would need in any scene in which the hero might die.The characters are ridiculous and over the top. I get this is a comic book, but it does not translate well to the screen. The Octopus is beyond camp and never seems like a real threat. Watching him fight in the opening scene is a joke and the use of the toilet and the toilet line solidified the fact that this whole film is a piece of crap. Why does this film such so badly? It's because Miller tried to recreate something that was not really his, Sin City part 2.Sure, he did write the books and the visual styles, but it wasn't he who translated it to the big screen. I'm afraid that if it were Miller who took the reigns of that piece it would look like this. How many shots were directly ripped from that film? Does that style even belong with this film, since the source material is a lot brighter. Miller's dark and gritty tone doesn't really give with this piece, because it's too unrealistically funny. Had the film been more serious and dark, it might have turned out okay.The women were pure eye candy, serving nothing to the film. The flashbacks that were used to fill in back-story could have been written by a monkey. Sand Saref is the girl from his flashbacks and she has an obsession with diamonds. So much that she goes looking for treasure and finds mythological artifacts, like Jason's golden Fleece and Hercules' blood. It's said that once you drink from Herc's blood you become a God. I don't see how that's any different than how these two characters are now. They never explain it. They just say become a God. They already can't die, but the story needs some kind of motivational piece for the characters to do their actions.The dialogue is horribly bad. My ears are still bleeding from the wooden delivery of those lines too. Sam Jackson plays himself, in varied costumes. He says random lines about eggs about a dozen times. No significance, other than the fact that he doesn't like them. His henchmen are clones, they repeat inane things. In fact everyone does, this film has repetitious dialogue everywhere, it's annoying.Yes, it looks nice, but it isn't. It comes off as that loser brother of the popular kid. The popular kid being Sin City. Miller's Spirit is something that I could have done without and you can too.
wow...just wow
posted on 22 Aug 2009To think so many A-list actors/actresses signed up for this horrible horrible turd sandwich of a movie, is about the only accomplishment this movie can lay claim to. I managed to last 10 minutes before I decided I would spend my time doing something more productive, like watching grass grow. Maybe I should have given the movie a little more time and see how it develops, but judging by the collective "2 thumbs down" from everyone on here, I'm glad I left the theater. Can we lay to rest this notion that Frank Miller is some sort of good director now? The graphic novel look got old after Sin City. Stick to what you know, Frank, and that's graphic novels. Leave the directing to professionals.
The Spirit or Your Money Back
posted on 20 Aug 2009OK, while it is true that the three of us left the theater looking like we had just been mugged after a few beers and some discussion we all realized that we had really enjoyed the movie. What did we enjoy about it? - you had to ask. We enjoyed all of it. The acting, characters and story were all well done and entertaining. Going by my memory of reading The Spirit in the 60's, 70's and 80's - Frank Miller seems to have successfully realized Will Eisner's conception of The Spirit from the earlier comics. I always read the comic as a satire of superheroes and the ultra seriousness of comic book stories. The Spirit comics seem to range from lighthearted to serious, but always seem to retain a tongue-in-cheek quality. Even the drawing is at one and the same time cartoony and dramatic. I believe the movie reflects all of the above qualities which is a tribute to Frank Miller's directing skill. I can describe the theater audience response by saying that there were shouted comments during the movie which everyone laughed at - but no one left the theater asking for their money back and seemed to be subtly commenting that they understood and agreed with the anger/dissatisfaction but at the same time appreciated what was being represented (this was largely an NYU audience). My review is based on my experience and opinion of the comic book and my own reaction to the movie. I did not come expecting heavy or serious emotional content and did not perceive it in the writing or acting. I did perceive more than a little overt and subtle humor. After reading many of the reviews I think the movie deserves a closer look.
Great Movie - people missed its complexity (as fools are wont to)!
posted on 18 Aug 2009This movie wasn't trying to be your Grand Slam 'Dark Knight' type movie. Unfortunately, people have been inbred with a deep strain of confusion when it comes to movies and somehow this movie hit the nail on the head for what your common viewer can't digest (just like Arrested Development, or Firefly). The Spirit is filled with irony, and - yes - complex dialog. No, there are no drumbeat soliloquies or dialogs that borderline on making you vomit with how formulaic they are, but I guess that's what would have made it good for most people.I thought the humor witty, dark and yet extremely spry.As far as plot? The Spirit hits deep with complex ethical shades of gray (no needless black and white, good and bad, in this movie - except for when it's ironic to have it). It doesn't pretend to be something its not, the movie has a levity to it that you see occasionally with Sin City but The Spirit lays it on thick. Think Harlequin crossed with Sin City - that's what you're getting here. And, it's great.It's too bad people can see it for what it is - somehow they missed its irony, and how deep its humor is. It's plain 'old absurd and I loved it.
A mess but lots of fun
posted on 18 Aug 2009The Spirit (Gabriel Macht) protects an unnamed city against the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) who seems to be indestructible. There's also Sand Sarif (Eva Mendes) and the Octopus' helper Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson).OK this is a mess but an entertaining one. It has a few bad sections--why do they try to turn the Spirit into a buffoon? At one point he's hanging from his cape from a building. To get away he has to take off his belt--which immediately makes his pants fall down and we see people laughing at him (which is kinda strange cause he has good legs). The original Spirit stories had comedy but never at the expense of him. At one point the Octopus and Floss are wearing Nazi uniforms! It's strange but not exactly funny. There's TONS of gun play and what is with all the cats we keep seeing? And why does that Arabian woman save him? Lots of questions but, all that aside, I had fun. The good things--the acting is good--Johansson acts like she's on another planet--but she IS fun; Jackson chews the scenery but in an amusing way; Mendes pops up in a series of very revealing outfits and is good; best of all is Macht as the Spirit. He has a deep voice, a muscular body and the film shows him shirtless at least three times. Heck--he's introduced wearing nothing but shorts! This movie is not your typical super hero movies. It tries to be funny--and succeeds! Some of the lines are laugh out loud funny and the cast deliver them full force. Also Macht breaks down the fourth wall completely at one point (he talks to the audience directly) but it STILL works! This is no masterpiece and it's not even remotely a faithful rendition of the Spirit comic...but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I had a fun time watching it! It's also shot in the style of "Sin City"--faded color with some objects in strong color (mostly the Spirit's red tie). I give this an 8.
A Disappointment
posted on 16 Aug 2009I wasn't expecting this movie to be amazing, but it still managed to disappoint me. The plot was unfocused, and it was easy to imagine how they could have done it better. As far as character development goes, there is very little. The viewers are given no real reason to care for the Spirit or his loves other than the fact that they love one another, and the Spirit is a half-dead man with an existential crisis (not as interesting as it sounds). More work on the back stories of the important characters would have done a world of good.I also disliked the fact that the Spirit gave monologues, rather than simply using voice over (or even better, cutting out the unnecessary babbling) because it seems ridiculous outside of a theater setting; I wanted to ask "who exactly does he think he's talking to?" Next, I knew this wasn't going to be just like Sin City, but the stylistic similarities are obvious. Personally, I feel that they really should have dropped the effects and avoided being compared to a far superior work. The effects were used so infrequently and erratically, it was clear that they were unnecessary. This film has a strange humor and half of the time it works, but the other half doesn't. However, it was a slightly redeeming aspect of the film. It can be so off the wall that you can't help but laugh. Other times, it leaves you wondering whether there is a reason for putting that part on the screen.I'm not sure whether this is an accurate representation of the comics or not. If it is, then surely the fans of the comic will enjoy the film, but for the rest of us, it leaves something to be desired.
The Spirit Movie Review from The Massie Twins
posted on 16 Aug 2009Extremely bizarre and only somewhat entertaining, Frank Miller's The Spirit focuses all of its efforts on flashy visuals and cartoonish humor and forgets to leave room for action and story. While the old-school comic book feel refreshingly replaces the humdrum bravado of the Hulks and Fantastic Fours of late, one can only take so much Greek mythology, Nazis, and egg. After escaping death (kind of), Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht) dons the guise of The Spirit, an almost immortal superhero who tirelessly patrols the streets of Central City attempting to rid the world of its most notorious evildoer – The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson). When Denny's old flame, Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), mysteriously appears in the city she swore she'd never return to, The Spirit must uncover her ties to The Octopus, his own connection to the vile schemer, and ultimately stop the criminal mastermind's latest plot for world domination – all while juggling the affections of every woman he meets and the ever-nearing grasp of the Angel of Death. It would probably be unfair to criticize the terrible acting, since one gets the sense that most of the ridiculousness is intentional. The actors don't have much to work with anyway, considering how cliché and commonplace the dialogue is, which could either be attributed to Frank Miller's take on the classic Will Eisner comics, or the way they were actually written. But since the look of the film is essentially all thanks to Miller and his inability to stray away from the impressive visual styles created for his previous project Sin City, it can be assumed that much of The Spirit's shortcomings are from the mind of the notoriously dark writer. At least the wild costumes and gorgeous girls provide enough eye candy to keep the simpleminded occupied.The visual effects simply don't serve any purpose for The Spirit; they look entirely too similar to Sin City, giving the impression that Miller is ripping off his own work. Plus, paying homage to Eisner's original artwork from the 40's comic book series couldn't possibly require harsh contrasting blacks and whites and reds. Perhaps its only benefit is to give the whole goofy concept a little more seriousness and a spattering of darkness. Although much of the target audience will be completely uninformed about the source material for this otherworldly masked crime fighter, it's safe to assume that very little of the original Spirit is present in this surprisingly dull new vision.- The Massie Twins
A Film Noir a la Garbage
posted on 16 Aug 2009The Spirit, which lacked anything suggested by the title, was a total comic book type of movie with no discernible script or character development. The best scene was towards the begging featuring a brutal fight between the hero and villain. Although, it was quite ridiculous that they were hitting each other over the head with toilet bowls. It was a struggle just to sit through this movie, which would have been better in a toilet bowl.The visual FX were very good, but didn't always serve any plot points. I'm also not real sure what point Eva Mendes' character was to serve, aside from eye candy. Unfortunately, besides her nude shot, most scenes she was in were boring, and slowed the momentum way down. The hero character was also quite boring. Samuel Jackson's character was fairly interesting, but somewhat too over the top compared to the melancholy of most of the rest of the characters.Overall, a pretty bad movie. Even Dick Tracy from over 20 years ago is a far more interesting, visually stimulating, and engaging film. The Spirit, skip it.
'...a pitiful, painful and laughable excuse for cinema...'
posted on 14 Aug 2009Frank Miller has bought a revolution to the screen with his resent and startling efforts, but when you're the proud owner of a project so highly anticipated, its hard to stay true to the material while still adding trade mark flare.The Spirit is a resurrected cop over looking Centeral City, fighting crime and pretty much doing all the chorse which the police in the city fail to do. But its up to The Spirit to protect the city from its biggest threat, The Octopuss!So its based on the 1940's comic, but The Spirit is one of the worst comic book attempts in years. Its a laughable and uneven mix of gloomy blacks and camp Batman style hooks. Its only 2 minutes in that you know this is not Sin City!The weakest subject which stands out the most is the pathetic dialogue. The Scripts a mix of 'Gosh Darn Its' and 'Get Them Twits'. Its so childish and they throw as many irrelevant 'egg' and 'toilet' jokes in there, its unreal. The Direction is shambolic. The Script moves as if it was a pantomime. Its so fake and disintersting to the point when you cant watch on.The acting is very mediocre and the badass Sam Jackson we grew to love has been chewed up, spat out into a horrible excuse of a villain. No one on screen is worthy of being titled 'actor'.Some of the visuals crammed in here are very impressive, but other times they look like card bored set pieces. Tacky, cheap and drowned in grey.Overall A pitiful, painful and laughable excuse of cinema. A pop corn flick that's been raped from its roots and displayed as one of the worst comic book attempts since Batman & Robin. The Visuals are at times impressive, but this was a superhero movie with no heart, soul or spirit.
I should rate it lower, but it has a couple of things going for it that make it watchable, at least
posted on 12 Aug 2009There might be a movement in the future to turn this box office bomb into a cult classic, but it doesn't deserve that. Much in the style of Robert Rodriguez's Sin City, but different enough not to feel like a cheap imitation, The Spirit does look cool. The images are often gorgeous. Add to that a number of pretty women, notably Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson, and it's almost worth watching with the sound off. But then you'd miss Sam Jackson's hammy villain, which is fun enough. But after the look and Jackson, there's nothing worth seeing. Miller infamously got a directing credit for Sin City because Rodriguez felt he followed the comic book so literally it would be wrong not to. But Miller here finds that storyboarding is not the same as directing. His tone is all over the place. He's going for over-the-top comic book-style camp, and it works occasionally. More frequently it flops on the ground like a suffocating carp. Miller also doesn't properly establish who any of his characters are, and, especially nearer the beginning, it's difficult to follow the plot. Most of the fault is surely Miller's (I've also heard that fans of the original Eisner work feel like Miller has put too much of his stamp on the work), but the editor is probably partly at fault, too, for the confusion. It's extraordinarily sloppy, but I was carried along enough by the art work enough where I can't rate it too low.
Very poor comic book movie
posted on 12 Aug 2009Seriously poor film with little to commend it for. Takes a hint of the style of "Sin City" but without the darkness of it, and replaces it with a ladies' man super hero out to stop the villain getting the blood of a god (which awards the drinker immortality). Add in an old flame, some ladies all after our lead man, some bizarre henchmen for the villain and you've the whole film.A good scriptwriter (Frank Miller) and a great actor (Samuel L Jackson) can't even make anything out of this. Humour was poor, action was generally flat and the story was not engrossing.Back to the drawing board for all on this one.
No spirit and no flow
posted on 12 Aug 2009Not having a life, I went to the theaters on Christmas Day to see "the Spirit" and was really enthused to see the adventures of Denny Colt unfold on the big screen. But, while the teaser trailer looked like it had the stuff, the actual movie didn't. First, I'll state what I liked.Sarah Paulson did a really good job here. In her hands, Ellen Dolan had the right amount of pain, anger, and hopeless romanticism to be legit. She truly captured the essence of someone who was heads over heels for the unattainable.I also liked Scarlett Johansson. Yes, the lady is devastatingly well put together. But she also has some of the best comic timing of any actress to grace the screen. She just has a way of delivering lines in outlandish situations (this movie is rife with them) that makes me want to laugh in a good way.Louis Lombardi was also pretty damn straight as Pathos. He should've been highly annoying. However, his empty stare and mindless grin worked. It made me yearn for the days of the mindless thugs from Adam West's "Batman".Lastly, I really dug the first five minutes of "the Spirit". The way the main character was introduced made me believe this was going to work. The presentation of him jumping across the rooftops was stylized, but with just enough realism to his motion to leave me awed. Now, it's time for what I didn't like.The remaining 103 minutes left me high and dry—on Christmas Day nonetheless. I could go into the acting, which, with the above exceptions, was dreadful. I could go into the story, which, as far as comic book movies go, was total dreck. I could even go into the fact that, even though this movie was supposed to be locked and loaded with a full compliment of babes, many of the said babes were so unnecessary that they hurt the flow of the film. But, I'm going to cut right to the heart of the matter. My problem is with Frank Miller's directing style, his writing style, some of his casting choices, and his dependence on this overly stylized presentation.Gabriel Macht's portrayal of the Spirit was weak, but this wasn't his fault. It might've been if his character had been played the same throughout the movie. But, under Miller's direction, he was played like a different person with each new scene. This goes far beyond the lead. Samuel Jackson, Eva Mendes, and Dan Lauria, among others, were all so erratic that it was disturbing to see no one noticed this before it hit the theaters. The storyline tying these characters together was also pretty abysmal.Will Eisner created the Spirit back in the forties to bridge the gap between the gumshoe and the superhero. Well this film really bastardized that defining take. Making the Spirit immortal killed any of the dramatic tension that the comics were steeped in. There was never a point in the story when I was concerned about what was going to happen, because he couldn't die. All the talk about the Blood of Heracles and the Golden Fleece felt so badly matched for the source material that it would've been laughable, had I not paid money to see it. Also, the dialogue was too repetitive. The whole gritty "I never use a sentence over seven words" movement died out with grunge. Yet, there it was. Here are three consecutive, approximated lines from the film. "The Octopus is evil"; "I have to stop the Octopus"; "his evil must be stopped". Then there is the over abundance of eye candy.I have nothing against Jamie King, Paz Vega, or Stana Katic. Regardless, what exactly did their characters add to this movie? Lorelei Rox was completely and totally unnecessary, since a guy who can't die has no business constantly being courted by a smoking hot and oddly needy version of death. Plaster of Paris was so non-essential that I can't say anything more about the character than that. While Morgenstern had some purpose, it wasn't enough for one of the later scenes to hang on her.Lastly, I don't care for this visual style anymore. It was new in "Sin City". In "300" it was a saving grace. Here it was just another underwhelming facet to an overwhelmingly bad movie. By the time the Spirit is dangling from a stone gargoyle by his belt, I had enough of it. The style seems too much like it's trying to compensate for too many deficiencies, in too many other areas, and falls short of its goal.In closing, I have three things to say. One, to anyone reading this, don't let this movie ruin the character for you. D.C. is currently putting out a monthly series ("Will Eisner's the Spirit") which better captures the proper tone of the character than this. Two, if anybody reading this can actually make it happen; I'd really like my $8.50 back.Three is for Frank Miller, assuming he ever catches this. Dude, take your voice out of park, drag it over to drive, and then gun the mutha'. You seriously need to catch up with the times. The "Dark Knight Returns" and "Robocop" were genre defying hits in the eighties. "Sin City" and "300" were all the rage in the nineties. Well this is the 21st century. I don't like saying this, but your style has become dated and has no flow. It's all so very stop and go, stop and go. You need to change with the times, as do all artists, or, eventually, you'll be booed off the stage as a mockery of yourself. If you don't believe me, read the reviews of this film or "All Star Batman & Robin" for that matter.
Absolute Rubbish
posted on 10 Aug 2009I have just come back from watching this travesty of a movie. Me and my girlfriend went expecting an entertaining ride in the vain of sin city......boy was I wrong. First things first I have never read a comic in my life and honestly, I've never heard of the Spirit but seeing as id never read a sin city comic and loved every second i thought id give it a chance. This film is so devoid of any heart or soul ts unreal. You get the feeling no one cares about what they are doing and sam jackson is the least scary villain ever committed to film. The violence was like cartoon slapstick I.E. a metal bar bending into the shape of sam jacksons head or throwing a sink and then trapping The Spirit in an old toilet. The Dialogue is so cheesy its laughable. Maybe it was supposed to be like this and if it was, the comics must be as dire as this. I cant really go on any further as I walked out halfway through to go out and do something worthwhile. This film really is the "showgirls" of comic book movies. It is so bad that "Barb Wire" deserves an Oscar in comparison. Please save your money and go see something else. Or rent it if you really, really need to see it, but I did warn you.
What were you thinking, Frank!?!
posted on 30 Aug 2009So, I finally saw The Spirit. Took a few tries to get through it, kept putting me to sleep.Started off awful, then it got a little funny and clever, and then boring and forgettable.Even the mindless violence couldn't keep me entertained.Even going in with very low expectations, I was still disappointed.I can't understand what Frank Miller was thinking. You wanted to make sure it got done right??? And this is what you came up with?The worst thing is that this is the current mainstream touchstone for the great work of Will Eisner, and it's horrible.Please don't judge Eisner based on this garbage. Go out and read A Contract With God, Dropsie Avenue or The Building. I've long been a fan of his post-Spirit work, but as a comic fan I felt obliged to watch this film.I gave it a 2.