Movie Review : The Spirit

Author: Izarrudin
Category: Movies
330 page views

Thursday
Jan 15,2009

Miller’s adaptation certainly looks impressive and the female characters are all drop-dead gorgeous in a Sin City way, but the script and story are all over the place and it never really comes together.

Based on the comic books by Will Eisner, The Spirit is written and directed by Sin City author Frank Miller and stars Gabriel Macht as ex-cop Denny Colt, who is now apparently immortal after being killed and somehow brought back to life. Adapting the masked persona of The Spirit, he prowls the streets of his beloved Central City, fighting crime and doing battle with criminal mastermind The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson).

However, when drop-dead gorgeous jewel thief Sand Saref (Eva Mendes) blows into town, The Spirit finds himself caught up in a case that might hold the key to his mysterious resurrection. Meanwhile, The Octopus teams up with stunning villainess Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson) and a series of cloned henchmen (all played by Louis Lombardi) in order to take down both The Spirit and Sand Serif.

The Spirit uses the same stunning high-contrast visuals that Miller learned from his collaboration with Robert Rodriguez on Sin City. As such, the cityscapes look stunning, while the female characters all look like ’50s-era pin-ups – indeed, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Paz Vega (as exotic dancer Plaster of Paris) and Jaime King (as Lorelei) are probably the main reason to see the film, with their elaborate hairstyles and borderline fetish-style costumes.

Unfortunately, the tone of the film is all over the place, as if Miller can’t decide whether he’s making a knockabout comedy (an early fight scene involves a lot of mud and The Octopus hitting The Spirit with a toilet cistern), a hard-boiled thriller or an emotional drama. As a result, the comedy never works and the film never really gels together, though it does have the occasional good moment.

In short, The Spirit is very much a case of style over substance and is ultimately disappointing. Shame. It’s a long movie and feels alittle draggy. Miss this one if its possible.

credits: ViewLondon | Yahoo! Movies Singapore

Official Movie Poster
Movie Review : The Spirit

Singapore Date: 25th December 2008
Language: English
Running Time: 108 mins
Rating: PG
Genre: Action
Tagline: Down these mean streets a man must come. A hero born, murdered, and born again.
Starring: Eva Mendes, David R. Ellis, Samuel L. Jackson, John Hamburg, Scarlett Johansson
Directed by: Frank Miller
Company: Lionsgate
Singapore Distributor: United International Pictures
iZone Rating:

5/10

Official Website :
The Spirit

Movie Trailer