The Spirit

The Spirit

Wow, what the hell was Frank Miller thinking when he made this movie. I guess Sin City director Robert Rodriguez didn’t teach Mr. Miller anything.

Miller’s solo directorial picture is not only a mess directing wise, but the story is a complete crap box. Miller decides to do camp in this movie, even though he’s known for his darker comic book stories. I have no problem with campy lines, if they’re written correctly. He doesn’t even bother here. Every line spoken by Samuel L. Jackson’s Octopus is cringe worthy and not amusing.

Speaking of Sam Jackson, his character is one of the worst villains in movie history, just below Nuclear Man from Superman IV. Jackson hams it up so badly that I wouldn’t be surprised if my PS2 has Swine Flu. I really like Sam Jackson a lot, but he’s just terrible here. Miller just let him loose and it’s just painful. (Did I mention that Octopus kills a cat by melting it? Was that supposed to be funny?)

There is also this bizarre thing with The Octopus and his obsession with eggs. I just don’t get it.

Gabriel Macht is boring as The Spirit. Macht’s performance is dull and stiff at the same time. While Eva Mendes shows off her very nice ass in the movie (She even photocopies it!) her performance hasn’t changed since Ghost Rider, and that’s saying a lot.

Actually, the acting all around is bad.

So what about the story? The screenplay by Frank Miller reads like his recent All-Star Batman series and that’s not a good thing. Lines are laughable and sometimes make no sense. Take this one for consideration…

Commissioner Dolan: Is every goddamn woman in this goddamn hell-hole out of their goddamn mind?

Morgenstern: No, sir, we're just equipped!

What?

With a bad story and acting, is there anything redeemable about the movie?

Yes, there are four things.

1. The visual style: Yeah, the mixture of color and black/white is stunning on DVD. It may remind you of Sin City a little, but Miller does a great job making this stand on its own from Sin City. The colors and lack of colors are brilliant. The Spirit is more like Sky Captain than Sin City.

2. The merging of Timelines: What I mean by this is that many of the buildings, cars, and clothing is from the 30s and 40s, while the technology is modern. They use the Internet, and people own laptops, and Blackberries. They even throw in modern military helicopters. Miller does a wonderful job seamlessly merging these timelines without it seeming odd.

3. Showing off Eva Mendes’ bare booty: I’m sure Miller had a field-day doing take after take of that. Too bad Mendes didn’t bring her acting game too.

4. The Score: The score by David Newman isn’t bad.

Miller’s The Spirit is a mess. The movie should be avoided unless you’re a true comic book geek or visual fan.

It’s a real shame that Miller fell into the same trap as Joel Schumacher did with Batman & Robin. Miller was one of the people responsible for the darker and serious take into comic book characters. His Dark Knight Returns was an inspiration for Tim Burton to create Batman (89). So, it is sad to see him do this troublesome mess.

Grade: D+

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Did I mentioned there is cloning in the movie? Yep, the main bad guy uses these clones as disposable henchmen. But, did he have to use Edgar Stiles?

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Dolan: “All right listen up. I want 4 cheese burgers and a large coke with that stat.”

Hapless Officer: “I got the order, but did you have to use the megaphone? I’m standing right in front of you.”