Movie Info
Movie Name: The Spirit
Studio: OldLot Entertainment
Genre(s): Comic Book/Action/Adventure
Release Date(s): December 25, 2008
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Yep…kind of felt like this watching the movie…
Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht) is a man reborn. After facing death, Denny somehow survived and was reborn with powers that prevent him from dying. Now, as the Spirit, Denny is a force and the spirit of the city he loves. Unfortunately, the city has enemies and Denny finds himself working with Commissioner Eustace Dolan (Dan Lauria) to stop the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) and his team of henchmen. The Octopus is after a magic elixir but finds himself clashing with a rival thief Sand Saref (Eva Mendes)…and only the Spirit can stop them both.
We don’t want your help…please leave us alone
Directed by Frank Miller, The Spirit adapts Will Eisner’s classic comic character that first appeared in 1940 for the big screen. The movie was released to horrible reviews and bombed at the box office.
The Spirit is an awful movie. Following in the footsteps of 300 and Sin City, the film is poorly plotted and cannot survive on the eye candy that had already been played out by the time it was released.
I think Frank Miller had a good run on Daredevil, Elektra, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, but other than that, most of his stuff has been quite bad. Robocop 3, All-Star Batman and Robin, and Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Back were all warning signs for this movie and should have been heeded. The story is garbled melodrama and doesn’t even really resemble the revolutionary comic.
Please kill me…
The movie was loaded with stars. Gabriel Macht as the Spirit was probably the least accomplished actor of the group. I can’t really blame the actors, but there is no substance to any of their roles and all the actors struggle. Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, Louis Lombardi, Jaime King, Stana Katic, and Paz Vega all seem confused by the tone of the movie and what was expected of them…Frank Miller did cameo along with DC Comics’ Paul Levitz and both should have been egged for tainting the memory of Eisner.
Imagery passes “being cool” to become lame
300 and Sin City were edgy but even while watching them, they were at points even tired. The Spirit was so over-the-top but didn’t even have any story to go with it. It goes beyond being eye candy and just gets into the annoying factor. I have no admiration for these graphics because they were just an attempt to cover the weak story.
The Spirit is a miserable experience. It is just tiring and isn’t even so-bad-it-is-good. What could have been a great film with a great character instead is a waste. Don’t bother with The Spirit…there are better super hero movies with just as much style (and with a plot).
