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240 comments in total

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245 out of 331 people found the following comment useful :-
A real review from someone who saw it - no spoilers - just my opinion, 21 December 2008

Author: crimsonica from United States

I must say that I was somewhat excited when my friend told me she got us tickets to the premiere of "The Spirit", especially since I've never been to a real premiere. It was an entertaining experience, all except for when the film was rolling.

I liked Sin City a lot, and I thought 300 was intriguingly well made and quite entertaining. Let's just say that compared to 300, "The Spirit" entertains more like Howard the Duck. The entire film seems like a total farce, an unfortunate mockery of Miller's unique style himself. It has been a very long time since I've seen a film with such little (to no) heart, and hardly any soul. I must say that Sarah Paulson gave the greatest performance by far of anyone else, as the Spirit's unconventional doctor. She is the sole source of any feeling or depth in the film. Macht was also at his best in the lead role when sharing scenes with Paulson, otherwise, he barely filled the part. I don't know if that was his fault however, given that the character himself was depicted with very little depth overall. I never read the graphic novel, but I'm going to go ahead and guess that this doesn't do it justice. How can I say that? Because novels build key characters into "people" that you care about, whether you hate them or love them, the characters stimulate your mind on some level or another. This is far from the case in this film. There is very poor development of the characters, which the majority of potential watchers are unfamiliar with. Sam Jackson has unfortunately chosen another terrible role, as the non-intriguing villain, the Octopus. Jackson however does give us some of his crazy wild eyed antics that we've grown to accustomed to, although his character falls flat for the most part, especially considering his opposite on the screen, Scarlett Johansen. It almost seems as if Miller was asleep on the set when her scenes were shot. She's THAT bad in this film, with a deeply sub par android-like performance. Eva Mendes did what she could to somewhat save the film from being a complete and total joke, although it's pretty close to being just that. She plays the bling digging female lead opposite Macht. Now quite possibly the most annoying character(s) ever portrayed on film are the Octopus's cloned henchmen, which were frighteningly reminiscent in annoyance levels of.......... dare i say it... Jar Jar Binks. My four year old nephew would surely find some entertainment value there.

This film ultimately succumbs to its poor writing and direction, which are almost cleverly masked by the signature visual style of Miller, which is hypnotizing at times. Unfortunately, it's hardly hypnotizing enough to mask the true, soulless identity of "The Sprit".

- Crimsonica

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200 out of 267 people found the following comment useful :-
Disappointing, 26 December 2008

Author: from Seattle

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.

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175 out of 274 people found the following comment useful :-
Strong Visuals, awkward script....half the people in the theater got up and left, 26 December 2008

Author: netbusterss from United States

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

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125 out of 191 people found the following comment useful :-
A flawed but fun-filled romp., 20 December 2008

Author: A_Roode from Halifax, Nova Scotia

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?

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102 out of 169 people found the following comment useful :-
Wrongly marketed, loved/hated, I loved it, 26 December 2008

Author: Tagifras from United States

Spirit was marketed to be the next Sin City or 300 which makes you think of hardcore action not quirky humor or PG-13

What most people hate about this movie I found awesome

Yes, one liners were cheesy. Yes, Samuel Jackson is in every movie ever. Yes, the acting was over the top. Yes, the film looks like Sin City. Yes, I loved this movie. Its so bad, its good. The one liners, the acting, and the style all made it feel like the comic strip.

The plot was a little thin but they had the back story catchup so you still get the whole movie experience.

The only major downfall I see to this movie is the PG-13 but thats why the DVD will be amazing.

You will know if you love/hate this film within the first 10 minutes so go see it and if you hate it, walk out fast so you get your money back.

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59 out of 86 people found the following comment useful :-
Lionsgate and Frank Miller are officially on Santa's naughty list with this Xmas disaster film, 23 December 2008

Author: Skon from Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The Spirit is a film with few virtues. There's a fingerful but that's it.

Gabriel Macht delivers a certain charisma in the titular role as Will Eisner's classic middle-class superhero. This is his first time carrying a movie and had the focus been shifted more on him, his antics and his conflicts it would have been a better film. We witness some lovely moments when The Spirit talks about the love he has for his city, echoing something at the very heart of the superhero mythos. One scene has him even using the city as a shield, a weapon and a guide in his role as its guardian. These are poignant moments that evoke that somewhere underneath all the terribleness there might have been a spark of a good film here.

That's where all the virtues end.

People will probably gravitate to the cinematography of Bill Pope which does its best to marry Frank Miller's Sin City with the pulp comics of The Spirit's origins. But as pretty as the cinematography does look here and there, most of it is too busy, too dark and too careless. As a film that tries to show the protagonist's relationship with his city the cinematography should have created a sense of being in a vast metropolis. Instead the visuals feel completely green-screened and the effect is that the film ends up looking like it was shot on a stage instead of in a wide open city. There is also something that feels unfinished about the green-screening process as though some more work needed to be done and as such the film has the look of the cut scenes out of late 90's full motion video games with the characters standing out from rendered CGI effects like sore thumbs.

This is Frank Miller's first time out as a solo director. He is credited with co-directing Sin City and after seeing this film one realizes that Miller had very little to do with the physical directing on that film. It's sad to see one of the greatest comic book creators of all time helpless in trying to do justice to Will Eisner's creations. Miller even casts himself as a police officer whose head gets ripped off and used as a blunt weapon in the film's opening. One wonders if that was CGI or if the lack of any thinking going into this film can be blamed on Miller's headlessness. Either way it's an apt metaphor for a project that steams forward without any direction.

The film is a mess of tones and genres. Scenes tend to go on forever without anywhere to go in the first place. There's an overuse of flashbacks. And most of the dialogue is delivered in soliloquy (including a scene where The Spirit talks to a cat for 5 minutes). There are no subtleties in delivery, pacing or acting. Everything is blunt, harsh and cold. The audience knows everything in the first 15 minutes and it takes the rest of the characters an hour to catch up. It's frustrating, busy and excruciating to watch. Even attempts at humor fall flat. A running joke with 24's Louis Lombardi is amateur in its rendition.

The acting is where Miller's lack of film-making chops shows most prominently. Sam Jackson plays the Octopus, a villain whose face was never shown in Eisner's comics and rightfully so. Jackson is fresh off of a plane full of snakes and still acting like it. He plays the same tough character he always plays - shooting off big guns while shooting off his even bigger mouth. It's beginning to get boring and he needs to seek out more parts that explore his range. In order to make up for having no character depth or any credibility as a villain, Jackson and his henchwoman, played by the vastly overrated Scarlett Johansson, go through more costume changes than a Vegas strip show. Jackson goes from dressing like a pimp to a mutton-chopped samurai and even (I can't make this up) a monocled goose-stepping heil-hitlering Nazi in an offensive scene that seems like a bad pun on the classic Patton.

Further to the acting, there is a bevy of female characters that clutter this film in an attempt to create some element of pulp sex drama. Johansson's Silken Floss is just money thrown down the drain as she brings nothing to the movie. I've never understood her appeal and this film is perhaps best proof of her need to hire an acting coach. The Morgenstern character is a time-waster and eats up screen time lecturing the audience on the Electra principle (Miller you created a character named Elektra, you have a fascination with it, we get it, but it has no place in this film). To believe her character we'd have to believe that a rookie cop would be the only one to notice a gigantic clue two days after a crime scene has been cleared. Sarah Paulson and Eva Mendes, both in terribly written roles, try the hardest and as an audience member I appreciated that.

The free screening I attended last night had a number of rows oddly empty from the get go. And within 10 minutes about twenty people had already gotten up and left. The rest of us stayed because it was cold outside and perhaps hoping that things would only get better. They didn't. After the film we had a unique experience where audience members cultivated together, like strangers at a traffic accident, to criticize the film. People were upset over a film that failed in every possible way a film can fail and yet the advertising campaign paints it as a brilliant, exciting holiday adventure. I assure you it's not.

Lionsgate this is a train wreck. If this is your idea of giving your audience a holiday present honestly shame on you.

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56 out of 84 people found the following comment useful :-
I really WANTED to like this... But..., 1 January 2009

Author: cafesmitty from maryland

I really wanted to like this but the main actor who played the Spirit was just plain awful. And everyone acting was dreadful, the writing is dreadful and the direction is dreadful. Maybe Frank Miller wanted that actors to Over act and over act they did BIG TIME. Sam L. Jackson is so over the top that it was painful. We were laughing at some scenes not because it was that funny, it was just that embarrassing. The first fight scene (not giving anything away), that the Octopuss had with the Spirit was force and confusing and so out of place and completely uninteresting.

This movie is STYLE over SUBSTANCE. And it's hugely disappointing from the guy that was part of The 300 and Sin City. I guess every good person have their bad movies. I think perhaps Miller wanted the characters to be cartoonish. At one point, I wouldn't have been surprised to see an anvil drop on someone's head, thats how ridiculous this movie was. Perhaps one has to be a fan of the comic book... (or graphic novel in some circle) in order to truly enjoy this. I went with three other friends and 3 out of 4 of use thought it was awful and the other person just said, "it wasn't that bad".

That voice over of the spirit was just bothersome the entire movie. I was thinking... please, for the love of god, shut him up. The Spirit's voice over is irritating like Jock itch.

Now for the other actors, Eva Mendes is as beautiful as always and at one point I heard at least 10 independent dayums go out like some said it once at the grand canyon and you got 9 echos... .DAYUM! dayum dayum dayum dayum...

The other ones didn't get to do anything, except there are moments of irritating joy in the Octopuss' creations. The Spirit gets a 4 out of 10 for not actualizing the film that it could have been. It is a pass.

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83 out of 141 people found the following comment useful :-
Frank Miller Does It Again, 28 December 2008

Author: Knuckle from United States

No really. He takes a property that is fun and clever and entertaining, spews his well-worn brand of "dark and gritty" all over it, and proceeds to waste a little over an hour and a half of your life (more if parking was a pain in the rear - as it tends to be during the holiday season).

We'll start off with what's right with this movie.

It's... um... "visually stunning?" Maybe. If you haven't seen "300" or "Sin City" or "Sky Captain" before. (Please note that while two of the three mentioned films are based on his work - there's a good reason they're watchable. You guessed it - he didn't write and/or direct them) And that's about it.

The acting was phoned in - it takes a great director to wring a great performance from actors who are given laughably bad, pseudo-noir lines to puke out and guess what? Frank Miller isn't a great director. He isn't even mediocre. He's just plain bad.

So, what possessed the studio to gamble several millions of dollars when Robocop 2 and 3 should have been all the proof they need that one shouldn't waste more than the cover price of a comic book on this man's dubious talents? I'd like to think it was drugs instead of just plain stupidity, but I somehow doubt it.

There's several good reasons why they waited until Will Eisner was dead before making this. Do yourself a favor, take my word for it, and don't waste your time and money finding out what those reasons are for yourself.

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28 out of 36 people found the following comment useful :-
How could this movie be worse?, 19 April 2009

Author: eliotmiller from United States

I have been a Frank Miller fan since I was 11 yrs old reading Ronin. Loved Sin City ( the movie and the comic books ), 300, etc etc. So what happened that was so bad that I registered with IMDb to write this review? To begin, the minimalistic green screen style was fun for Sin City, but it just became pointless and tired. The acting?? It was brutally obvious that these actors were acting alone in green screen land. No inspiration, no passion, nothing but emptiness. I am 39 years old, I have been a reader of comic books since I was 8. How the hell did these characters make it to the big screen? "The Spirit" is a stupid character. With stories like "The Sandman" and "The Preacher" yet to be made, this was a big waste! I just wanted to put a warning out there, this movie will make you want to stick a shiv in your own neck.

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46 out of 74 people found the following comment useful :-
I have a city as my weapon … The Spirit, 20 December 2008

Author: babubhaut from buffalo, ny, usa

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

There is a lot to like about Frank Miller's debut as a solo director. The Spirit is shot with a similar style as his last film, Sin City, based upon his own graphic novels, and the imagery is quite stunning at times. I'm not familiar with Will Eisner's series for which the film is based, but after viewing scenes in stark black and white, with the bright red tie and blindingly white sneaker soles, coupled with the end credits artwork, I have to believe Miller did his best to bring those drawings to the big screen. The story too is intriguing, showing a superhero that works directly with the police; he is his own branch of the department, known by all and brought into cases like a detective. It's a refreshing take on the whole vigilante stigma that will be explained once his origins are relayed. However, while there is a lot to like, there is a lot more that will just make you shake your head in disappointment.

I've been told that the comic is very pulpy and hard-boiled with shades of camp and I hope that is true because the film goes overboard in all of those categories. I enjoy a little humor and some fun, but when it's inside of a film that is shot so darkly, so seriously, the juxtaposition becomes forced. There are plenty of good one-liners and the quick dialogue and rat-a-tat banter can be exciting, but mostly it is just plain laughable. What is The Octopus's fascination with eggs? He does not like egg on his face, he hates those brown eggs that come from chickens, and one of his henchmen is named "Huevos". Maybe I'm missing something there by not having read the comic; it just went way too long. Even the fight scene at the beginning between he the villain and The Spirit's hero works only in moderation. You become intrigued by the fact neither can be hurt, they heal from every wound, and The Octopus's cryptic talk about how they are two men uniquely alike makes you beg the question of what happened to them. However, the fight keeps going for ten more minutes—they bludgeon each other over and over again until they just decide to stop. I won't even go into their horridly ominous declarations of how they will meet again, "real soon", or how they'll kill the other "all kinds of dead". They just trade empty threats like that and go their separate ways … it's all kind of surreal actually and no, toilets are not always funny.

The film is really just an exercise in excess and how, unless one is experienced enough to handle that much material, it will all fall apart as a result. As far as pacing goes, the story becomes disjointed with abrupt interludes, (a short scene between the police commissioner and his doctor daughter that really goes nowhere except to explain Denny's relationship with Ellen) and all those somewhat stupid vignettes with Lotelei, the angel of death, and overlong exposition. Trying to go full-bore into style hurts scenes by making them too intricate and overblown. The obligatory bad guy telling the good guy his plan because the good guy is about to die scene lasted an eternity. Miller attempts to wow us with his sharp angles and quick cuts to close-ups dragging this Nazi-themed exchange out forever. Paz Vega is brought in for eye-candy and a necessary allegiance reversal before she is gone from the film again; The Spirit's quips serve only to make The Octopus talk even longer, and being played by the master of bombast and extreme Samuel L. Jackson, talk he will; Scarlett Johansson's speech does much the same in her matter-of-fact, emotionless delivery for the entire film; and the henchmen, (I like Louis Lombardi and the schtick is funny the first couple times), get overused, killing the joke before it even became cute. You watch the scene waiting for our hero to escape; you know he will, you just hope you don't have to be bored so much waiting for the inevitable.

As far as the acting goes, besides characters being mishandled script-wise, all involved do an admirable job. It appears that they are all having fun in their hard-boiled way, hamming it up to the camera with broad facial expressions and over-the-top speech patterns. I'd be interested to see what a guy like Rian Johnson could have done with this, someone who showed a sense of rhythm and timing in his stylized speech with Brick, someone who has a better understanding of pace than Miller perhaps.

With that said, I really liked Gabriel Macht as our lead, The Spirit. A relative no-name, this guy must carry the film on his shoulders, and I think he did the job well. There was always a sly smile on his face whether getting beat-up on the verge of death or flirting with the multitude of sexy women. He had the tone right and made it fun, even getting the deep raspy narration correct for the many "voice of God" moments as he explains what is happening. And since I mentioned the sexy women, there were some effective parts and some not so much. Eva Mendes was on the right page as well as Stana Katic, probably my favorite part of the movie as Morgenstern. She steals every scene she is in with her street cop accent and genuine sparkle in her eye with every compliment. Johansson and Vega, though, were purely eye-candy, giving some stilted performances. But I blame Miller for that, possibly being unsure how to direct them to get what he needed. Being coy and confident in your delivery is one thing, looking bored is a complete other.

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