Will Eisner's The Spirit with Gabriel Macht
Comic Book Adaptation with Samuel Jackson is a Destined Flop
Dec 30, 2008
Among all the names that send comic book fanboys into a tizzy, few can top legends of the industry Frank Miller and Will Eisner. The immortal Eisner’s groundbreaking creation The Spirit revolutionized comics, helping turn what was once merely a kiddie industry into a serious art form. Miller is well known to cause the hearts of many a geek to go pitter-patter with his robust, edgy art and daring stories such as The Dark Knight Returns and 300.
These two men—dear friends before Eisner’s death in 2005, so much so that a book was published about an extended visit and conversation between the two called Eisner/Miller—seem like a match made in heaven, so naturally, an adaptation for the screen of The Spirit helmed by Miller ought to be a no-brainer.
My City Screams…
The premise of The Spirit is interesting, if a little uninspired: A rookie cop, Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht), is murdered in cold blood and somehow, miraculously returns from the grave. Seeing that his own ‘death’ has given him the freedom to punish Central City’s criminals, he takes up the mantel of the Spirit, a masked vigilante who can’t be killed. Throughout the course of the movie, he finds himself surrounded by people who either want to kill him, love him or seduce him.
Tech Specs
As The Spirit opens, audience members who are film buffs or comic fans will groan. The visuals are unique and very film-noir, drawing the eye and engaging the senses, but the badly written voiceover introduction to the titular character is actually painful to hear.
Miller’s directorial style from the very start is strange, stilted and without flow. The noble intent to make a moving comic book is clear, but it seems Miller forgot he’s working with living actors, not characters on a comic book page, and left movement out of the equation altogether. Still shots that should last mere moments stretch into agonizingly long seconds as cheesy, unnatural dialogue is delivered. One gets the distinct impression that the director is a well meaning amateur who obviously has no idea what he’s doing.
Once the movie shifts into real action, however, a stunning shift in tone and style makes itself known. The very first fight scene, a standoff between the Spirit and his nemesis the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) dissolves into a silly, enjoyable round of rock ‘em sock ‘em fisticuffs. Here, the characters leap to life thanks to the humor infusing them. Whereas the dramatic parts of The Spirit take themselves too seriously to take pleasure in, the humor is a pleasant surprise: deliberately ridiculous and over the top.
Over the top—that’s a term that can be applied to a great deal of The Spirit. Samuel L. Jackson plays the role of the Octopus with obvious relish and Scarlett Johansson, as his henchgirl Silken Floss, plays the perfect deadpan second fiddle to his over exaggerated villain. Channeling Adam West’s Batman to some extent, Macht does an admirable job with his role as the Spirit, considering the terrible script he had to work with, and Dan Lauria, as the Spirit’s ally Commissioner Dolan, is an absolute treat.
Of all the bad performances in The Spirit—both intentional and unintentional— the one that brings it down the most is without a doubt Eva Mendes’ turn as Denny Colt’s childhood sweetheart, the seductive Sand Serif. Her performance is wooden and wholly unimpressive. Every scene she’s featured in immediately drains you of any joy you were deriving from the story mere moments before. Without Sand Serif, The Spirit is at least a fun bad movie. With her, it’s just plain bad.
Still, despite all its flaws, there are still parts of The Spirit that are a greatly entertaining, if only because of how bad they are.
Final Verdict
For serious, hardcore fans of The Spirit, not only as a comic book but as a character, the most sound advice is to stay far, far away from the movie. Those who aren’t that attached to the comic book version and don’t mind intentionally cheesy acting, bad writing and bad directing are sure to find something to enjoy, but will still cringe pretty often. However, lovers of B-Movies and their tacky charm will have a grand old time during The Spirit, even as the other members of the audience groan.
Without a doubt, The Spirit is a stinker that will bomb at the box office and Eisner is probably rolling in his grave, but as far as bad big budget comic book movies go, it’s still rather fun.
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