The Spirit

Rating:	★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Other

Big problems in this movie. Which is really sad considering the movie is based on a really good comic series called The Spirit of the late Will Eisner, a veritable God among comic creators.

Having seen this film, I feel that there were two directions the film could have taken to have been more successful. First, the film could have simply accepted the fact it was intended to be a campy funny comic film and approached its narrative more like Charlie's Angels or maybe even Not Another Teen Movie. Everything from really scripted one-liners such as "Toilets are always funny!" and scenes (like the Foot-head clone) could have been more acceptable and actually funny than being odd out-of-place moments in a film that was trying to be too serious that it really was.

OR, the film could have ditched the camp humor and instead turned into a dark gritty narrative of a former cop who becomes the Spirit of the city and his connection to the villain called Octopus and how an old burning flame connects to the current fiasco.

But no, Frank Miller having no true film background forced the film to dance between serious and funny without the mastery of directors such as Tim Burton or writers like Joss Whedon. The film was uncomfortable and badly choreographed, and though it had remarkable visuals, suffered from wanting to be both live action and animated in too many ways.

The Spirit lost its spirit in this adaptation and became a horrific caricature of its source. I wouldn't recommend buying the DVD unless you are a true fan who doesn't care how the source gets butchered. It is still worth a look see however, if you happen to already have the DVD in your home.

Maybe if Frank Miller took more inspiration from films like The Rocketeer or Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, the film could have been far more successful in entertaining its audience.