The Spirit (2008)

How anyone could pick Frank "Dismal" Miller to direct one of the gem's of comic's, by a creator, Wil Eisner, whose brilliance in comics so outshines his, is insane. Miller is a terrible director and his attempt to make a movie out of The Spirit, shows. The writing is horrible, the acting is even worse. I won't blame the actors, they need a director and some real screen writing things that are sadly lacking in this farce of a movie. This is terrible from the get go. I'll ignore that we've already seen this type of filming in Sky Captain and 300. So that whole green screen effect isn't all that remarkable. The story is laughable and even Samuel Jackson phones in his performance. I'm wondering if Miller did a deliberately bad job just because as good as he's been - he's no Wil Eisner. I'm surprised because I'd figure that he'd have the proper respect for one of the giants of the industry. I guess I was wrong.

The Spirit...good lord The Spirit; talk about an irredeemable mess of a film. Made with the sole intention of cashing in on the Frank Miller led success of Sin City (2005), The Spirit is an ugly, sophomoric and downright bizarre answer to the question what would Samuel L. Jackson do for a paycheck. Based on a long-running newsprint comic turned pulpy graphic novel, The Spirit is actually a masked vigilante who seems to be in a constant battle with The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) for the heart of Central City. There's a story about a stolen serum, some garbled garbage involving a bevy of femme fatales and various on-the- nose references to Greek mythology.As for the Spirit, Gabriel Macht, previously known for his performance as "the guy that died first" in Behind Enemy Lines (2001) is easily the most bland graphic novel hero ever committed to film. The man is but a wisp in comparison to Samuel L. Jackson who goes full diva complete with a constantly changing wardrobe that includes the level subtlety of a Nazi SS uniform.It's all pretty standard as far as cloying movies go but what sets it apart is the drab set design, fanatically over-the-top performances and ludicrously thin noir pastiche job. It's as if the makers of this film were trying to meld divergent parts of The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Tom and Jerry (1940-1958) without bothering to capture the spirit of either. Grotesque, confusing and garish, the film story-wise is just bland and forgettable.

I saw this movie in the theater and was hugely disappointed. Actually, it's amazing that it was released in such a poor state. I tend to watch sci-fi movies more than once, but I'll avoid this movie like the plague if I see it on the cable guide. I am a comic book collector, though I don't collect the Spirit. Perhaps my lofty expectations were that the movie stay on track or be able to keep my attention. Samuel Jackson must have been looking for a single pay check when he agreed to be in this film. He certainly couldn't have been thinking it would make him any money in post-theater play.If Daredevil is a five out of 10, and Fantastic Four is a 4 out of 10 and Iron Man being a 10 out of 10, then it's fair to say that The Spirit is a 1 out of 10.

Oh-me! Oh-My! Where-oh-where in the world do I begin to comment (level-headedly) on this... this... This spiritless superhero movie-drivel that comes from the absolute dregs of a Hollywood, comic-book "mess"-terpiece?Yes, indeed. The Spirit was a glaringly classic example of "all style over no substance" where one side of the scale was so over-weighted with 60 million dollars worth of style that any "thinking" viewer might feel compelled to scream out for something, anything that would make even half-sense out of this picture's exasperatingly demented story.But, hey, if you're into super-nonsensical movies that are all grit, grime and garbage, then The Spirit just might be the very film that you're looking for.Within The Spirit's cruel, callous and sadistic story, actor Samuel Jackson was an utter, over-the-top embarrassment as the all-evil "Octopus".And when Octopus and his equally wicked accomplice, Silken Floss, stepped out in full Nazi regalia, marching around in front of a 10 foot tall swastika, that, for me, was the last straw of sheer stupidity which lost this film some seriously significant points.Anyways - When it comes to being a director/writer of a film that I swear was being made up as they went along, I'm now completely convinced that Frank Miller is strictly bottom of the barrel.