The Spirit

Big fan of Sin City, big fan of 300, bigger fan of Watchmen. The Spirit was sadly a big let down for me. The visuals and art direction were amazing, strong cinematography, very "Roger Rabbity" sorta feel with the rotoscoping of some scenes, his tie, shoes, backdrops etc. The script was supposed to have this sorta old school Raymond Chandler sorta film noir sorta feel to it and it just didn't hit it.

Cheesy liners, a lot of the acting felt as if it was rushed, and some of the scenes were just very...awkward and boring to say the least. I went to a 10pm showing of it tonight and there was only about 20people in the theater. Halfway through everyone except me and my company left to "get their money back." Blah, hope Watchmen isn't as much of a let down :/ Totally not worth the 10bucks a ticket unless your a die hard DC fan and have actually read the Spirit comics, if not then its kidna not worth seeing, unless your friend has it on DVD and your high and need a good movie to pass out to.

Also does anyone else find that whenever they watch a movie with Samuel Jackson in it now, ever since Snakes on a Plane you just cant friggen take him seriously anymore? Its like every time he says a line or has some sorta goofy quote I just laugh in my head. ARG okay peace

I was very excited about The Spirit because I am a big fan of Sin City and was looking forward to see Frank Miller in action again. Also, the cast seemed to be a great lineup. However, it doesn't matter how good the actors are if the plot and script are lame, and I am here to tell you -- I don't even think the likes of Anthony Hopkins and Meryl Streep could have saved The Spirit for this reason.

I kept waiting for the story to intrigue me and for the characters to develop. I watched a couple of people walk out of the theater about an hour through... Finally, I checked the time (never a good sign when you're watching a movie), only to discover that the movie was nearly over, and there would be no chance for redemption.

Aesthetically, The Spirit was interesting, but I couldn't help feeling like I'd seen it all before. The cinematography and graphics were pretty much a carbon copy of Sin City. I expected to see similarity (Frank Miller's style is distinct, after all), but not identical visual imagery.

Bottom line, I rarely see movies in the theater because it's expensive! For three people, we spent over $50 in downtown Seattle for this experience, and it was so disappointing. I hate to waste that much money on such a poorly written, boring movie. My recommendation is to skip The Spirit altogether (really, the plot and script are that bad). But if you're really curious, save your money and rent it when it comes out on DVD.

I honestly thought he would treat this much-loved and admired classic with some respect. Guess I'm naive. It certainly looks gorgeous, but that's almost regrettable in a film that's otherwise so utterly, grindingly, gone-to-hell stupid. Awful performances (except by Gabriel Macht as Our Hero, who looks great with his wide earnest eyes and buff physique, and handles the lines about his love for the city with fine, tough conviction), jaw-droppingly overdone dialogue, what seems like hours of totally unnecessary comic material ...man, it's just dreadful, and a great disappointment to me. If I ever buy the DVD I'll only watch it with the sound turned off.

Poor Will Eisner must be spinning in his grave tonight.

"His soul stretched tight across the skies/ That fade behind a city block . . .' T. S. Eliot, Preludes

Because writer Frank Miller knows a bit about comic books, his solo directorial debut (He co-directed Sin City with Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino) is a feast of comic book campy dialog, outrageously curvaceous women, and a reborn hero, Spirit, whose abs compete very nicely, thank you, with those women's notable parts. It's all about the mythological struggle of good and evil with visual delights and a bunch of bright dialog.

Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht) is a former cop, recently dead, come back as Spirit, an avenger trolling the city for the very alive bad guys, especially Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), who kills indiscriminately, especially those who dare to look at his face (As he hits Spirit over the head, he says, "Come on! Toilets are always funny!"). Mostly his plan to wipe out the city holds Spirit's attention.

Spirit's voice-over narration about the city may not be T. S. Eliot, but it has poetry about it as Spirit extols the city's feminine qualities that make it his girl. Well, that's a bit of a stretch because Spirit spends a good deal of time seducing most of the skirts he meets with a special eye for childhood sweetheart Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), now a notorious global jewel thief and implicated in murders in Spirit's own Central City:

The Spirit: "There probably isn't a law in the books that you wouldn't break." Sand Saref: "Do I look like a good girl?"

The comparisons with Sin City are inevitable but not difficult because Miller seems to be approaching Spirit as visually more stylized and plot less complicated. Even the narration and dialog are minimized and more exaggerated, but to good effect.

Spirit is one of the best movies of the year: an imaginative take on a comic book character that visually stuns and verbally amuses.

Can't ask for more than that this Oscar year.

wasn't quite sure what to expect from this one,, not being a real comic book fan I decided that I would give it a chance, second, I wasn't expecting Sin City, which by the looks of the boards most of you were. Samuel Jackson did a great job in this movie,, Gabriel Macht was wonderful as our hero, and Eva Mendez sexy as ever. our hero is in charge of doing good in the city and saving as many people as he can,, there are lot's of people who would rather not have him around Central City, especially the loathsome Octupus,, play by Samuel Jackson,, there are lot's of sexy women in the film,, good action, thrills, suspense , a lot of the good vs evil theme, I like the whole approach the movie took,, it takes you on a mythical journey to somewhere where you can only imagine,, a lot of people bash this movie because it's not like Sin City, well so what,, I didn't want it to be that movie,, this is a decent movie,, worth watching,, won't win any Oscars, but I really don't think that it was attempting to.