The Spirit (2008)

The Spirit: Directed by Frank Miller. With Jaime King, Gabriel Macht, Dan Gerrity, Arthur the Cat. Rookie cop Denny Colt returns from the beyond as The Spirit, a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces in Central City.

“I love the interview with Lorenzo Semple Jnr, screenwriter for u0026#39;Flash Gordon,u0026#39; when he suggests that the film would have been a big hit if only theyu0026#39;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 u0026#39;getu0026#39; the film will keep it alive forever, but Joe Moviegoer wonu0026#39;t care if he ever sees it again. And so I turn to u0026#39;The Spirit,u0026#39; a film which has similar qualities to u0026#39;Flash Gordonu0026#39;: bad enough to be awesome, tongue firmly in itu0026#39;s cheek and gentle satire in itu0026#39;s hand.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026#39;The Spiritu0026#39; 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 youu0026#39;re watching a movie. There isnu0026#39;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 Jacksonu0026#39;s character, u0026#39;The Octopusu0026#39; 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 Octopusu0026#39; 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 youu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFrank Miller takes u0026#39;The Spiritu0026#39; 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 u0026#39;The Spiritu0026#39; in moments of levity. The noir angles of this film donu0026#39;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. u0026#39;The Spiritu0026#39; has the look of u0026#39;Sin Cityu0026#39; and the heart of u0026#39;Flash Gordon.u0026#39; When it works, it works well, but the film is a terrible mess whenever it is trying to be serious.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSo is it worth the ride? I think so if you go in with the proper expectations. Thereu0026#39;s not really anything new visually if youu0026#39;ve seen u0026#39;Sin Cityu0026#39; or u0026#39;300u0026#39; — both Miller works of course — but that didnu0026#39;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 youu0026#39;re looking for too much. And if nothing else, Eva Mendes has never looked better on film than she does here. Thatu0026#39;s got to stand for something, right?”