The Spirit

I’m a comic book fan but not a comic book aficionado. However, I have done some research on The Spirit, the comic crime-fighting hero which originated in the 1940s and was a creation of Will Eisner. The Spirit has such a distinct and dedicated following not only due to its longevity but also because it’s been revered as one of the most significant works of the medium. Apparently, Eisner created and/or popularized many of the conventions still used by comic creators to this day.

As I watched the film, I tried to look at it from both aspects. I tried to see it from the eyes of a devotee, someone who would take Frank Miller down if he didn’t do The Spirit some justice. From my own little, brown eyes, though, I could be a little easier on the film and take it for what it is. Yet, I think that either way, it disappoints both version on some level, and it’s a shame since Miller’s (Sin City, 300) previous adaptations have been met with such excitement.

I didn’t want to compare Miller’s Spirit to anything else he’s done, but you know how that goes. It’s almost impossible to keep an unbiased head, but it’s even harder when the director purposefully does nothing to try and differentiate the movie from his premier foray. It works even less when an adaptation of a comic book seems like a whole new story in itself.

Miller directed, as well as, wrote the screenplay. Gabriel Macht (Because I Said So, The Recruit ) was cast as The Spirit, himself, a former detective who returns from the dead to fight crime in Central City. As the big villains, Samuel L. Jackson (Jumper, Unbreakable) and Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Girl with a Pearl Earring) play The Octopus and his accomplice Silken Floss. Fan geeks everywhere I’m sure are up in arms over the fact the the famed Octopus who’s identity was never more than hands and gloves in the comic has a face in the movies.

Most critics will attack The Spirit for the same reasons they attacked Sin City, a movie I adored and could have watched over and over again. They’ll say its stiff and unemotional, that the detachments makes it hard for anyone to care about what’s going on. However, this is far from the reason why I have anything negative to say at all. The truth is, they’re right, but at least with Sin City, the originality of Miller’s vision from the black and white medium with only splashes of color to his stoic dramatization were memorable. His character were memorable and so was the visual aesthetic.

So when I went in to see The Spirit, I was ready for something new and different. But it seems that Miller rested on his laurels for this one. He used the same devices that he used in Sin City even though the comics are obviously different. There are also a lot of high brow undertones that would play better if they were broken down into vignettes as Sin City was. It would at least make everything a little easier to digest, but this happens to be the one thing that Miller doesn’t reuse unfortunately.

If you are looking for something purely entertaining than you may find enjoyment in The Spirit, but anyone looking to best Sin City or 300, who are just comic fan or who love things that are plain new and inspired, you’ll walk away feeling disappointed.