The Spirit

I love the interview with Lorenzo Semple Jnr, screenwriter for 'Flash Gordon,' when he suggests that the film would have been a big hit if only they'd been able to market it as a movie that would be a cult classic in thirty years. He goes on to explain what the core problem is: A cult film, by definition has fanatical supporters ... just not a lot of them. Those who 'get' the film will keep it alive forever, but Joe Moviegoer won't care if he ever sees it again. And so I turn to 'The Spirit,' a film which has similar qualities to 'Flash Gordon': bad enough to be awesome, tongue firmly in it's cheek and gentle satire in it's hand.

'The Spirit' manages to be wondrous and infuriating. A visual feast, Frank Miller was the perfect choice to bring the film to life. On the other hand, the dialogue is often so cheesy and the characters so over the top that the movie never allows you to be lulled into that wonderful moment of forgetting that you're watching a movie. There isn't a single character in the movie who talks like a real person. They all talk like, well, comic book archetypes: gruff commissioner, megalomaniacal super villain, brilliant evil assistant, sultry femme fatales, loyal and uninteresting love interest, and on and on. Take Samuel L Jackson's character, 'The Octopus' for example. It is a character that Jackson was born to play and Sam throws every ounce of his endlessly entertaining and over the top style into the character. It works and he plays the part brilliantly because he takes ridiculous dialogue and ridiculous material and has wild amounts of fun with it. The cast, by and large, follow his lead. Scarlett Johansson is hilariously withering with her acerbic barbs to The Octopus' clone lackeys, all of whom are played with deadpan wit and verve by Louis Lombardi. It is hard, in fact, not to feel some pity for Gabriel Macht who has to play Bud Abbott to a cast of rollicking, scene-chewing Lou Costellos in an over-acting competition. It all works wonderfully if you're willing to view the film as, uncharitably, being unintentionally funny or more genuinely as a gentle lampoon of comic book films by one of the great figures of the graphic novel genre.

Frank Miller takes 'The Spirit' and has great fun with it. It is quirky at times, ham-handed at times, but lovingly made. A brilliant Noirist, Miller actually has much better luck in 'The Spirit' in moments of levity. The noir angles of this film don't work unless designed as a kind of self-righteous satire. The noir feels forced and dramatic moments are mercilessly skewered by the corny dialogue that a helpless Gabriel Macht delivers with straight-laced determination. 'The Spirit' has the look of 'Sin City' and the heart of 'Flash Gordon.' When it works, it works well, but the film is a terrible mess whenever it is trying to be serious.

So is it worth the ride? I think so if you go in with the proper expectations. There's not really anything new visually if you've seen 'Sin City' or '300' -- both Miller works of course -- but that didn't make them any less interesting to me. Plenty of humour where it may or may not have been planned and the potential to be a cult classic. This is the kind of movie you can best enjoy in the company of friends and a cold six pack. Look for diamonds and you're looking for too much. And if nothing else, Eva Mendes has never looked better on film than she does here. That's got to stand for something, right?

Scene: a foot with a face on it is merrily hopping around a countertop. Meanwhile a slutty nurse is talking about economic strategies of a criminal organization. Three identical idiots are watching on with titillation. The boss is hunched over the foot with great consternation, repeating "That's just damn weird."

WTF??

Who here grew up on comic books, raise your hands. The dork madly flailing in the back would be me. In order to appreciate this film it requires some familiarity with the comic book medium and its ability to take us into an utterly bizarre, senseless and oftimes brainless world. Situations are surreal. Dialogue is snippy, contrived and just a snicker away from utterly ludicrous. That's what comic books do, and this film is one of the most faithful adaptations I've seen.

Those who criticize this movie for "bad script", "bad acting", etc would have a point if we were talking about some snotty, pretentious too-cool-for-mainstream flick, but no, this is the opposite: pure fun. I mean, jeez, when the bad guy pauses in the middle of a tense battle to talk about eggs... or when he gets into a debate with one of his henchmen over the job's healthcare benefits, how can you NOT have fun?? Instead of expecting an action film, you should go into it expecting something more like "Airplane!" and I guarantee you'll have a great time & some big laughs. Like when one guy commits hara-kiri with a samurai sword and says "Am I doing this right? It sorta smarts." OMG LOL. And there's plenty more where that came from, but I won't spoil it.

Both Samuel L Jackson & Scarlett Johansson as his deadpan sidekick deliver top-notch comedic performances with pinpoint timing. Set against a wickedly incongruous backdrop of "film noir" where madcap comedy is definitely against the rules, "The Spirit" presents us with one of the greatest bipolar contrasts since "Catch-22" (the greatest deadpan action flick ever).

And just a word about contrast, I'm sure that's part of Frank Miller's intent, seeing how the film is full of biting visual contrasts. I won't even go into how masterfully he brought the comic book visuals to life; you just gotta see it.

If you like witty, tongue-in-cheek, dark comedies, then this is the film for you. A lot of action films are peppered with wit & humour, but this is one of the few that crosses into outright comedy, and it does a great job. If you like this film, keep an eye out for the Japanese flick "Cutie Honey", another great, artistic, campy romp which was misunderstood by audiences and overlooked.

If any of what I've said resonates with you, I strongly urge you to run down to your local Blockbuster where you can find this film in the $2 bargain bin, watch it & get in early on the cult following. It may be 10 years before people come to appreciate what Frank Miller did here, but you can say, "I told you so!"

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

This movie is amazing. everything about it from the visuals to the acting to the storyline it is all just amazing. Do not listen to anyone who says this is bad it is amazing. This is definitely one of the best movies of all time. Go out and by this movie today. It's only like 10 bucks now. AND IT IS WORTH IT. GO FRANK MILLER!!!!!! By the end of the film you love the characters and if anyone tells you otherwise just ignore them and say you are wrong. wrong. wrong. wrong. wrong. wrong. No matter how busy you are just go see this movie NOW! it is very very very cool and fun. It is so good that even people that hate these kind of movie love it. Go see it today!

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.