The Spirit [Theatrical Release] |  | Manufacturer: Lionsgate
Category: Theatrical Release
This item is no longer available
Rating:  12 reviews
Language: English (Unknown)
Region: 1
Number Of Discs: 1
ASIN: B001AVCFJ2
Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 2009 (In 173 Days)
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Moments of startling beauty punctuate the comic-book action flick The Spirit, written and directed by Frank Miller, the legendary writer/artist behind the reinventions of superheroes like Daredevil and Batman and the creator of the comic books of Sin City and 300. The Spirit (Gabriel Macht, Because I Said So)--once a beat cop named Denny Colt, now a resilient masked crime-fighter who returned from the dead--tangles with his nemesis, the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), and a slew of slinky dames along the way (played by Scarlett Johansson, Paz Vega, Jaime King, and more). But the real struggle is the Spirit being pulled between the girl he loved once (Eva Mendes, Ghost Rider) and the girl he loves now (Sarah Paulson, Down With Love). Miller applies his trademarked hyperbolic tough-guy approach--a perverse mixture of ultraviolence and melodramatic sentimentality--to the whimsical 1940s detective hero created by Will Eisner. Unfortunately, the combination is unlikely to satisfy fans of either artist; The Spirit is a mishmash of cliches and half-baked plots, plucking threads from several of Eisner's puckish tales but never reweaving them into a satisfying new story. The actresses provide plenty of eye-candy but little substance, while Macht is just bland. But Miller has an undeniable eye; the movie, with its exaggerated artificial visual style, is littered with images that dazzle and ravish. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 A stupid movie, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. February 2, 2009
Genevieve Hayes (Australia)
Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht), a seemingly dead cop, returns from "beyond the grave" in order to clean up crime in the city that he loves.
Although visually similar in style to "Sin City" and written and directed by Frank Miller, the creator of "Sin City", that's where the similarities between these two movies ends. "The Spirit" is a silly, anachronistic, over-the-top piece of fluff with none of the sadism that characterizes Miller's other works. You could easily show this film to a 10 year old without having to worry about them being emotionally scarred for life. In fact, this reminds me of a lot of the adventure films that I used to watch, and love, when I was growing up in the `80's. Not much swearing or violence, but plenty of action.
Many of the newspaper reviews that I have read of this movie criticize it for being "stupid", and I agree with that whole-heartedly, but that is the reason why I liked this film. Because of its stupidity, "The Spirit" is a lot of fun. Sure, it's cheesy and Samuel L. Jackson is practically chewing on the scenery, especially in one particular scene when he gets to give one of the big speeches that seems to be his trademark, but in the cinema that I saw this in, the audience was laughing from beginning to end (which is a lot better than I can say about some comedies that I've seen), and the actors who appeared in this film seemed to be having a lot of fun, too.
If you're expecting another "Sin City" or "300", then you'll probably hate this film, but if you want a film to see a light hearted, superhero action film with an abundance of stupidly quotable lines, and some pretty amazing visuals, then this is the film to see.
 Disapointing... January 8, 2009
J. Washburn (San Diego, CA)
I am a fan of Frank Miller. I have enjoyed his other movies, Sin City and 300. I absolutely enjoyed those two movies because they delivered and were both very enjoyable.
The Spirt. Not so much. As a fan of Frank Miller I enjoyed the visual effects and the story line. I enjoyed the vivid colors and the story line. But for him delivering two action packed, drama infused movies previously - The Spirit did not fire on all pistons. It was in a simple word - disapointing.
Beautiful Movie January 5, 2009
Christopher White (Littleton, CO USA)
I'm really conflicted reviewing The Spirit because it was both a masterpiece cinematically and a terrible money in every other respect.
So let's talk about the visuals, they were mesmerizing and I think even more effective then Sin City. The soft snow always playing about the camera's focus gave a uniquely sense of depth within such a low key movie. The lighting was also splendid throughout, I really feel like they did a beautiful job overcoming what the senior VFX supervisor/second unit director Stu Maschwitz reefers to as greenscreen psychosis where all of the people on set get get the impression that everything they do doesn't matter because it's all going to be done in post. This isn't the case the result is particularly good footage in it's fantastic style. I loved the slow-motion pieces too, especially the early scene where the shot dry for underwater, it didn't look like it was underwater, but it looked like a very stylized trip below the surface. (mild spoilers)
Then there's the story. The narrative felt very hollow and inconsequential, I never felt like any of the characters really alive or could fit within the universe we're peering into. The underlining plot points we're painfully erected without giving us much of interest to go on, this was definitely the case with the Spirit and the Octopus' healing abilities. The blood of Hercules, what, really? What does that have to do with the Octopus' chemistry experiments? The other thing that seemed weird to me was that for a decent length movie I don't feel like that much actually happened, I never grew board but maybe the lack of complexity and a clear story arc might be what left me feeling so ambiguous as the story continued to progress. I can't recommend it enough because of the notes it gets right, but it's no contender for movie of the year.
 And I thought Ghost Rider was bad... January 3, 2009
Alikat (Las Vegas, NV USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
What an insult to superhero movies; is it any wonder why people like Alan Moore dislike Frank Miller's work? The man needs to choose a career: comics or movies, and stick to it. Or at least keep his hands off the works of deceased comic veterans like Will Eisner. No, I've not read the Spirit comics myself, but anyone could open up the comic and see that Eisner and Miller have two completely points of view. I do like Miller's film noir style, but the Spirit is certainly not fit for his style. He seemed so focused on his visual style, he forgot to actually write a fine screenplay, and let me emphasize that he did write the screenplay and direct. So this monstrosity was entirely his fault. I also feel that some of the fine actors in this movie, like Samuel L. Jackson, wasted their talent on this. I can almost envision Miller telling his cast to act like they're in a '40s picture as they rip out a cell phone on screen. On that note, he also needed to choose an era. THEY DID NOT USE CELL PHONES IN THE 1940S.
Anyway, this movie is a waste of two hours and I don't recommend it. I was begging for the movie to end, and was so grateful when it did. I wish I would have seen Benajmin Button instead. What a waste of eight bucks.
The Undead Detective December 31, 2008
Chris Pandolfi (Los Angeles, CA)
Frank Miller's "The Spirit" is the epitome of a comic book movie, visually striking and perfectly cast, with a plot so over the top and dialogue so silly that it's actually a lot of fun. If you're even considering taking this movie seriously, it's best you skip it and then forget that you've ever heard of it. I listened to the corny lines and I saw the preposterous action sequences, but rather than be critical, I just shrugged it off and allowed myself to enjoy what I was watching. Based on the comic series created by Will Eisner, "The Spirit" is part superhero movie, part film noir, and part detective story with just a little sci-fi thrown in for good measure; they all come together to form a goofy but entertaining product, one so stylized that you can't help but stare at it in total fascination. Like Miller's "Sin City" and "300," it creates a world of its own through amazing computer technology, turning every frame into a living interpretation of a comic book panel.
The setting: A dirty metropolis known as Central City, the kind of place where crime is as normal as self-indulgent voiceover narrations and slinky saxophone solos. Keeping watch from the shadows is the title character (Gabriel Macht), a mask-wearing, cat-loving vigilante who prefers black suits, black hats, and red ties. He started life as a rookie cop named Denny Colt, who was shot to death while on duty. Through a process I won't describe, and for reasons I won't reveal, he was brought back to life and now has the ability to heal very quickly, meaning his body can take a lot of abuse. Most of the abuse is at the hands of his archenemy, a mad scientist known only as The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), so named because he supposedly has eight of everything. In an early scene, the two meet at a local trash-polluted bog and beat each other senseless; at one point, The Octopus takes a discarded toilet and smashes it over The Spirit's head. "Oh, come on," The Octopus sneers, "toilets are always funny."
The Octopus' sinister plan: Drink from an ancient vase containing the blood of Heracles (or maybe it's Hercules) and become immortal. Once that happens, he'll begin a campaign to take over the world. Unfortunately, a sultry femme fatale named Sand Saref (Eva Mendes) unknowingly took the crate containing the vase; she believed she had found a different crate, one that contained a very old, very special piece of armor. She and The Octopus must now negotiate a trade.
But The Spirit complicates matters. He and Sand were childhood friends until a family tragedy turned them against each other. As a teenager, she vowed she would leave Central City, become fabulously wealthy, and surround herself with a multitude of shiny things, like diamonds. She was as good as her word; she now has a reputation for marrying rich men, having them killed, and using their money to finance her underground crime empire.
Numerous side characters populate this film, all of which are given personality quirks unique enough for a comic book adaptation. There's the perpetually flustered Commissioner Dolan (Dan Lauria), who relies on The Spirit but doesn't approve of his methods. There's Dolan's daughter, Ellen (Sarah Paulson), a doctor who spends all her time at the hospital waiting for The Spirit; the two have had romantic flings, but his reputation as a womanizer strains their relationship. There's Morgenstern (Stana Katic), a rookie cop who dresses like a leather mistress and brings such youthful enthusiasm to the job. One of the most baffling characters is Lorelei Rox (Jaime King), a luminous phantom who always appears when The Spirit is on the verge of dying; how this came to be is anyone's guess, and so are her reasons for staying so close to The Spirit.
The Octopus also has a number of interesting side characters. His accomplice is Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), a scientist with eyelashes so long that they would have been the envy of Tammy Faye Baker. And then there are his cloned henchmen (all played by Louis Lombardi), big, brainless brutes who have Greek and Hispanic names that end with "-os," such as Pathos, Huevos, Logos, Ethos, Rancheros, and Amigos. One of these clones is a freaky genetic accident--a tiny head attached to a bouncing foot.
While The Spirit is about as conventional a character as I expected, The Octopus continually surprised me. Consider the fact that he never wears the same outfit twice; he's the kind of person who wears anything that reflects his given mood. Within the course of this movie, we see him dressed as a scientist, a samurai, and a pseudo-pimp, with an expensive fur collar to boot. There's even a point when he dresses like a Nazi, and this is hilarious given the unbridgeable gap between his race and Hitler's ideology. He also has a tendency to work the topic of eggs into his conversations, which is strange since we never see him eating any. Basically, The Octopus is more comedy relief than he is a villain. I didn't mind a great deal, though; this character is so delightfully overblown that he's probably better suited for humor. He even adds credibility to one of The Spirit's sillier lines: "I'm gonna kill you all kinds of dead." Not too many audiences will appreciate lines like that, and I'm sure most won't appreciate the film as a whole. But if you're in the mood for escapist comic book fun, as I was, then you might want to consider seeing "The Spirit."
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