Reviews thread

[viewaskew5]

Here is another review:
http://emanuellevy.com/Reviews/details.cfm?id=12024
Levy thought it was ok.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

Here is another review:
http://emanuellevy.com/Reviews/details.cfm?id=12024
Levy thought it was ok.

Where? To me it reads like another negative review.
"[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Unfortunately, as helmer, he stumbles in giving his new work, "The Spirit," the right tone or consistent mood, and so the tale veers from the serious and tedious to the parodic and campy from chapter to chapter. "The Spirit" may be too caluculated and too self-conscious for its own good."[/FONT]

 

[Bubastis]

But he did have nice things to say about Macht's performance and gave it a C.

 

[viewaskew5]

Where? To me it reads like another negative review.
"[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Unfortunately, as helmer, he stumbles in giving his new work, "The Spirit," the right tone or consistent mood, and so the tale veers from the serious and tedious to the parodic and campy from chapter to chapter. "The Spirit" may be too caluculated and too self-conscious for its own good."[/FONT]

He gave it a C.

 

[I Am The Knight]

I don't see how Miller will recover from this.

 

[3 Dev Adam]

I don't see how Miller will recover from this.

He wont. Maybe he'll pull a Bruce Willis and shot his own head with birdie poop. A life for a life.

It was only a matter of time before Frank Miller, the visionary creator of "Sin City" and "300," both commercial hits, would engage in solo writing and directing. Unfortunately, as helmer, he stumbles in giving his new work, "The Spirit," the right tone or consistent mood, and so the tale veers from the serious and tedious to the parodic and campy from chapter to chapter. "The Spirit" may be too caluculated and too self-conscious for its own good.

The novelty of having half a dozen femmes in a genre that's famously male-driven, and that they are played by such appealing and sexy actresses as Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Sarah Paulson, and Paz Vega, helps compensate only up to a point for the feature's other shortcoming, and there are several of those, on both the narrative and visual-technical levels.

Adapted from the series by Will Eisner, "The Spirit" tries to blend engaging storytelling with eye-popping, state-of the-art CGI graphics in sweeping the audience into an overly stylized world of adventure, danger and romance. The PG-13 rating may be both a blessing and a problem for the film. On the one hand, it encourages Miller to explore new ways of spinning a tale for younger viewers, but on the other, it presents a set of constraints that are not always successfully overcome, such as the level of violence and stylization.

Marking a change of pace, Gabriel Macht is well cast as the hero, Denny Colt, a murdered cop who is mysteriously reborn as The Spirit, the masked crime fighter. The yarn is based on a single idea: Denny-Spirit's determination to keep Central City safe. To that extent, the Spirit pursues the villains from the shadows, quite obsessively (this is film noir, after all), particularly the worst member of the wild bunch, the psychotic megalomaniac Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson in an outrageous performance).

The mission keeps Denny active and busy, but there is always time for beautiful and alluring women, and this is the most innovative and for a while appealing element of the film. In the tradition of film noir, most of the women are sexy, mysterious, duplicitous, and motivated by more than one agenda; The Spirit never knows if they want to seduce and make love to him or simply ax him. With growing cynicism, he has come to believe that the one femme who will never betray him, and to whom he will always be true is Central City, the old metropolis where he was born not once but twice.

When the tale begins, on a moonlit night in Central City, a call comes in to the Spirit about a shady deal about to take place at the mudflats near the waterfront, involving an old, sunken cargo ship and the city's most terrifying criminal, the Octopus. In one of the film's climaxes, Octopus happily battles the Spirit until both men are way beyond punch-drunk. Meanwhile, the Octopus's ice-cold accomplice, Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), heads back to their underground headquarters with some mysterious treasures looted from the sea.

As a result of the deal, one cop is dead and another is severely wounded. Shot, knifed and kicked, by all rights, the Spirit should be dead. But is he? While his sweetheart, surgeon Ellen Dolan (Sarah Paulson) stitches him back together, the Spirit knows he'll heal up fast, but he doesn't know why and how.

As long as the Octopus is still out there, no one in Central City is safe, and it turns out that the Octopus wasn't the only person at the mudflats. Another woman woman was present, and the evidence points toward the alluring international jewel thief Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), his first love of years ago, when both were neighborhood kids. We learn that a tragedy had sent them on radically different paths, and that Sand had vowed never to return to Central City. Could the woman at the mudflats really have been her? And could the "girl next door" Denny used to know has become a murderous woman?

When another dead body is found, the Spirit intensifies his search for his lost love. Meanwhile, the Octopus, Silken and their band of identical henchmen (Louis Lombardi) are also on the hunt for the jewel thief, seeking an exchange of the treasures that had brought them to the mudflats. All know that once that exchange happens, the Octopus will be able to realize his master plan to control all of Central City.

In the mythic and romantic tradition of such fare, only one man, the Spirit, can Octopus. Problem is, the Octopus knows more about the hero than he knows himself, including the cause of his immortality and the "cure" for it.

In bringing this comic book to the screen, Miller has recruited a dynamic cast of stars and newcomers. As the titular hero, Gabriel Macht, a usually modest performer in secondary roles and mostly in indies, surprisingly turns in a strong performance. The movie benefits from the fact that Macht is not as well-known to the public as other actors (Bruce Willis, Clive Owen) who have done screen adaptations of comic books.

 

[mego joe]

There's tons of better movies with hot girls (and boys) to pick, why go for that Miller Litter?

Just pointing out it's the ONLY positive thing I have to say about the movie. And it's really about her not the movie.

 

[rogue trooper]

Here's a somewhat positive review: http://www.newsarama.com/film/081218-the-spirit-review.html


I went into director Frank Miller's big screen adaptation of comic book legend Will Eisner's The Spirit with few pre-conceived notions. Having only read a small number of Eisner's original comics, I didn’t know much about the character going in. But on the other hand, with the previews and trailers seeming to indicate this movie would be Sin City 1.5 in terms of art direction, I knew enough about the comic books to know that this style might conflict a bit with the source material.
Despite this conflict, or perhaps because of it, somewhere inside The Spirit is a great film. Its potential can be seen in bits and pieces all over the screen, making it all the more disappointing when it just never quite follows through on that potential.
First, comic book fans should know ahead of time that there are some major changes from comic-to-screen. Changes to characters are made to seemingly make them work better for a two-hour live-action movie, and possibly to make The Spirit more familiar to fans of other recent successful superhero films, leading to a few awkward moments.
Some of the acrobatics that title character performs for example just seem strange. Not cool ... not “wow” ... just strange. Most of these moments occur in the high-action scenes, and can pull the viewer right out of the rest of the movie.
These moments, however, were contrasted by mostly great dialogue by director/screenwriter Miller, and some effective one-on-one interaction between the various actors. The scenes between The Spirit and each of the film's bevy of leading ladies always entertained. Each of these women had their own unique strength and style, and they all stood out at one point or another as if they were the star of the film.
Eva Mendes as Sand Saref particularly clearly seemed to enjoy her role. She played the sexed-up ultra-thief well, but her character never seemed fully developed, like part of her story wound up on the cutting room floor.
The best chemistry on screen, however, belonged to The Spirit and Commissioner Dolan. Gabriel Macht and Dan Lauria at the same time seemed like old friends (which, as it turns out, in real life they are), student/mentor, and foils pitted against one another. Their give-and-take was spectacular, and a real highlight of the film.
Samuel L. Jackson’s Octopus was the least established of the characters pulled from the comics, and at times came off as a caricature. 'Over the top' doesn’t do justice to the ridiculousness of Jackson's portrayal. If the respected actor dialed it down about 70%, then it would have been over the top.
Again, Miller's dialogue shined in Octopus' conversations with The Spirit, but any time he wasn’t directly addressing the hero, Jackson just came off as goofy. There was never any menace or threat inherent in the character, and while that may have been intentional, it never felt right.
All these supporting players revolve around the titular one, of course, and Macht does a good job throughout, peppered with moments of greatness, shining in particular while playing off his co-stars. In his rare moments of solo on-screen time, his presence just isn’t quite strong enough to stay compelling, and the shift to almost entirely cartoony shots mixed in with those strange acrobatics doesn’t help.
Visually, despite the impression the trailers may leave, the Sin City-ish effects and art direction does not in fact dominate the film. There are lots of other colors other than the ultra-noir black & white, and more "realistic" settings throughout the movie, with the ultra-stylized moments chiefly occurring during The Spirit’s patrols and monologues.
These sequences wind up coming off oddly, with the transitions in and out of near-animation a bit too jarring and unnatural.
The mosh of comedic banter and noir-ish drama worked well for the most part, but ultimately, those aforementioned moments of potential that flash and peek out now and again are too far and few between to save The Spirit from being a disappointment.. The deviations from the comic book source material may also bug die-hards, but because Eisner's creation is much less known to more mainstream audiences than some other iconic superheroes that likely won't be a widespread problem.
If this film does well enough to rate a sequel, and with some more directorial seasoning under Miller's belt, perhaps future installments could achieve the greatness this one just frustratingly teases. As it stands, The Spirit does a precarious balancing act juxtaposing great moments and terrible ones, leaving audiences likely be split over which makes the greater impression.

 

[theMan-Bat]

Yeah, the newsrama review is mixed. Somewhat positive and somewhat negative.

 

[rogue trooper]

Most users here http://www.flixster.com/movie/the-spirit/reviews can't wait to see the film.

 

[theMan-Bat]

That's a good sign.

 

[Bubastis]

Well yeah, because it's a ****ing facebook application.
I can see the ad now.

The Facebook users are Raving about the Spirit!
"Though I'm not familiar with Will Eisner's graphic novel, I am familiar with director Frank Miller's more popular works, and I enjoy them. But this will have to be something special to kill the bad buzz from Comic-Con."

"Looks alot like Sin City, and I love it."

"With three amazingly cinematic trailers and "sin city" like looks, I'm really looking forward to this. "

"Sin City rules! Can't wait to see Angelina Jolie in the sequel. As for this, just can't wait either!!!"


Man, I wasn't sold until I heard that the movie looked cinematic!

 

[theMan-Bat]

Flixster.com has something to do with facebook.com? And what would that have to do with some people posting that they are looking forward to the movie?

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

I am a fan of the Spirit on Facebook, but it only took me a click to become one.
I don't know if I'll waste more energy to go to a theater to see it.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Well yeah, because it's a ****ing facebook application.
I can see the ad now.

The Facebook users are Raving about the Spirit!
"Though I'm not familiar with Will Eisner's graphic novel, I am familiar with director Frank Miller's more popular works, and I enjoy them. But this will have to be something special to kill the bad buzz from Comic-Con."

"Looks alot like Sin City, and I love it."

"With three amazingly cinematic trailers and "sin city" like looks, I'm really looking forward to this. "

"Sin City rules! Can't wait to see Angelina Jolie in the sequel. As for this, just can't wait either!!!"


Man, I wasn't sold until I heard that the movie looked cinematic!

Next they are gonna start putting IMDB users quotes on the ads for the movie, like in that Teen Fight movie from earlier this year:

DaRkKnIghT24 said:

"omg this mobie will rockk!1 can t wait t c eve mendes bare ass and that foreign chick with teh scarlet johnson and SAMUEL L MOTHA****** JACKSON!!! frank miller rulz!"

XoXosparrowlove said:

"i would watch it over and over. MARRY ME GABE!"

MillarXtime69 said:

"f*** all the haters this movie RULEZ its like sin city but it has looney tunes sounds that go bee ba beep BAMMMM!! omfg this was better than that boring ass fest milk lol"

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Looks like the movie will get mostly negative reviews, but I think it looks like it could be pulpy OTT fun, so i might catch it at the cinema, although I wont be devastated if i dont.

 

[theMan-Bat]

A positive review (mostly positive) from SCREEN DAILY:

"Three years after Sin City, the technique of imposing actors on animated backdrops is wearing a little thin. Frank Miller is a visionary when it comes to imagery and design, but the dark, dreary setting of Central City sometimes overwhelms The Spirit. Whereas Sin City kept the audience visually distracted with multiple storylines, this film demands that the audience stay in one murky visual milieu for a not-short 108 minutes, and it tests the patience. Perhaps, like fully-animated movies, audience attention span can only stretch to 90 minutes or so in these CG-dominated ventures.
Having said that, Miller's script is run through with a wry sense of humour which gives the film some buoyancy, and his actors gamely engage in the noir mood, throwing out one-liners and sexual innuendo with gay abandon.
Gabriel Macht, a handsome young actor with credits including The Good Shepherd, A Love Song For Bobby Long and The Recruit, is well-cast as Denny Colt, a former rookie cop who was murdered and mysteriously reborn as The Spirit, a masked crime fighter with a taste for the ladies.
The film wisely opts not to waste time on this backstory, instead immediately kicking off with a call from an old cop ally to come down to the mudflats near the waterfront where a deal involving psychotic criminal The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) is going down. Once there, he finds the cop dead, clutching a locket belonging to Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), a beautiful jewel thief who happens to be Denny's childhood girlfriend.
A flashback reveals that the cop was killed by the Octopus, who is after one of two treasure chests which Sand has dredged up from a sunken cargo ship. One contains an urn filled with blood of Hercules, which could render him superhuman, the other a trove of jewels. She leaves the scene with the chest which Octopus is after, while he managed to gain possession of her chest.
Thereafter the film follows Octupus's quest to retrieve the urn and Spirit's efforts to stop him. Along for the ride are police commissioner Dolan (Dan Lauria), his daughter and Spirit's wholesome love interest Ellen (Sarah Paulson), Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), Octopus' alluring partner in crime, and the cloned brotherhood of his disposable henchmen, all played by Louis Lombardi.
Jackson has never been this animated as the outrageous Octopus, although Johansson looks uncomfortable as the conniving Silken Floss, especially when the pair don Nazi uniforms to interrogate The Spirit. Mendes is as alluring as ever, vamping it up as the thief with a heart of gold. One of the film's best moments is when she wiggles up onto a photocopier to take a picture of her ample derriere."

http://www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=42359

 

[3 Dev Adam]

Mike Goodridge wrote it. Dismiss.

 

[Lighthouse]

So far, all the "positive" reviews have been pretty faint praise.

 

[Dark Victory]

you are all haters....

i'm not much for miller either (SIN CITY was godawful)

but give it a chance

You should blame Rodriguez. Miller didn't do jack ****.

 

[Bubastis]

Interestingly positive review from "MoviePictureFilm.com" (weird)

Like "Dick Tracy" on crack, Frank Miller's "The Spirit" is a marvelously bizarre superhero flick. But most importantly, it's a loving one. Best known for his gritty film noir-style comic book stories, this is Miller's first solo directorial gig since working with Robert Rodriguez on 2005's "Sin City" and it's just as memorable if not better.

Now, racking up a nice amount of cash and fan love is never an easy goal, but "Sin City" managed to do that for the most part. Unfortunately, this time around hasn't been as kind to Miller. "The Spirit" has been met with less than flattering advanced reviews and major skepticism from fans. A comment I've read more than once, said: 'no superhero movie will ever beat 'The Dark Knight.' I see, so now that a film has become the most successful superhero movie ever, every one following it has to pale in comparison? I loved "The Dark Knight" just like everyone else, but this is not the same thing. "The Spirit" has 100% more playfulness and humor than the aforementioned film and doesn't take it self as seriously. It's a flamboyant fantasy, a 1940's comic book mixed with a dash of zany cartoonish humor, a swig of blood red severity, complete with all the twists of a 50's detective novel. It's over the top, off and the wall and brilliant. Most people will just not understand it.

We follow the mysterious Spirit- (Macht, in a breakthrough role) a masked, nearly immortal crime fighter in the midst of a battle with his arch-nemesis The Octopus (Jackson in his best lunatic performance) a mad scientist who is also nearly immortal. Wanting to make sure he has the upper hand on The Spirit by transforming himself fully into a god, he needs to drink from an ancient vase stolen by none other than The Spirit's childhood sweetheart, now a bombshell jewel thief- Sand Saref (Mendes).

Full of jaw dropping moments, including Sam Jackson in a nazi uniform- "The Spirit" never loses its footing. As long as you're following the same path- you will absolutely fall for its deranged charm. Macht with a growl in his voice to rival Christian Bale's- steals the show here showcasing an awesome screen presence to take on his leading ladies and even a crazed Jackson. Expect big things.

Not your average superhero film- but something much, much more special and unique, "The Spirit" is one of the best films of the year. It's not another "The Dark Knight", it's not trying to be. Go in expecting a fun, uncommonly stimulating action movie full of, you guessed it, spirit- and in turn it will blow you away.

 

[Bubastis]

Also, so far the flick is getting a 33 on rotten tomatoes.

 

[theMan-Bat]

Like "Dick Tracy" on crack, Frank Miller's "The Spirit" is a marvelously bizarre superhero flick. But most importantly, it's a loving one. Best known for his gritty film noir-style comic book stories, this is Miller's first solo directorial gig since working with Robert Rodriguez on 2005's "Sin City" and it's just as memorable if not better.

Now, racking up a nice amount of cash and fan love is never an easy goal, but "Sin City" managed to do that for the most part. Unfortunately, this time around hasn't been as kind to Miller. "The Spirit" has been met with less than flattering advanced reviews and major skepticism from fans. A comment I've read more than once, said: 'no superhero movie will ever beat 'The Dark Knight.' I see, so now that a film has become the most successful superhero movie ever, every one following it has to pale in comparison? I loved "The Dark Knight" just like everyone else, but this is not the same thing. "The Spirit" has 100% more playfulness and humor than the aforementioned film and doesn't take it self as seriously. It's a flamboyant fantasy, a 1940's comic book mixed with a dash of zany cartoonish humor, a swig of blood red severity, complete with all the twists of a 50's detective novel. It's over the top, off the wall and brillant. Most people will just not understand it.

We follow the mysterious Spirit- (Macht, in a breakthrough role) a masked, nearly immortal crime fighter in the midst of a battle with his arch-nemesis The Octopus (Jackson in his best lunatic performance) a mad scientist who is also nearly immortal. Wanting to make sure he has the upper hand on The Spirit by transforming himself fully into a god, he needs to drink from an ancient vase stolen by none other than The Spirit's childhood sweetheart, now a bombshell jewel thief- Sand Saref (Mendes).

Full of jaw dropping moments, including Sam Jackson in a nazi uniform- "The Spirit" never loses its footing. As long as you're following the same path- you will absolutely fall for its deranged charm. Macht with a growl in his voice to rival Christian Bale's- steals the show here showcasing an awesome screen presence to take on his leading ladies and even a crazed Jackson. Expect big things.

Not your average superhero film- but something much, much more special and unique, "The Spirit" is one of the best films of the year. It's not another "The Dark Knight", it's not trying to be. Go in expecting a fun, uncommonly stimulating action movie full of, you guessed it, spirit- and in turn it will blow you away.

Great review!

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

Also, so far the flick is getting a 33 on rotten tomatoes.

It's at 29% now, still better than "The Day the Earth Stood Still"...

 

[3 Dev Adam]

The positive review was written by Scott Hoffman. He gets payola from the studios to make good reviews of lame movies. Just check his track list. Dismiss.