Movie Review: THE SPIRIT

“My city screams. She is my lover. And I am her spirit.”
Yet another masked crusader

Best known as the writer of such successful comics, screen adaptations and graphic novels as 300, Elektra, Ronin, Buck Rogers, and the RoboCop and Sin City franchises (yes, number 2 of the latter is currently in production, along with a plethora of new blockbuster sequels, prequels and franchises planned to hit the screens in 2009), Frank Miller now tries his hand at directing Will Eisner’s classic comic superhero The Spirit.

Against the green screen of Central City, Gabriel Macht, (The Good Shepherd, A Love Song For Bobby Long and The Recruit) plays rookie cop Denny Colt, murdered and since mysteriously resurrected as The Spirit, a masked crusader whose mission it is to fight the city’s crime. This mainly involves prevailing over his arch enemy known as The Octopus (wryly played by Samuel L. Jackson), with whom he has a strange connection. The Spirit stalks this psycho megalomaniac through doomy docklands, murky marshes, ramshackle warehouses and dingy subterranean caverns - all the while fighting off a horde of lovely ladies, all bent on killing him, seducing him, or both.

Without going too deeply into any backstory - a wise decision, as it happens - the action begins with The Spirit being summoned to assist an old buddy in the force. He arrives at the waterfront to find his pal dead; in his hand, a locket belonging to The Spirit’s own childhood sweetheart, Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), who has grown up to become a notorious, and exceptionally curvaceous, jewel thief. We discover (in flashback) that the cop was killed by the Octopus, who is after one of two treasure chests that Sand has salvaged from a sunken cargo vessel. One of them holds an urn containing the “Blood of Hercules”, which bestows immortality and superhuman powers, while the other contains a fortune in jewels. So it’s a matter of “the wrong box”: Sand has departed with the urn instead of the jewels and the Octopus is determined to get his hands on it. Thereafter the film follows Octopus’ pursuit of the urn and The Spirit’s efforts to stop him. He is assisted in this, or hindered as the case may be, by a supporting cast consisting of police commissioner Dolan (Dan Lauria), his daughter who is also The Spirit’s long-suffering physician (she is constantly patching him up) and love interest Ellen (Sarah Paulson), Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), Octopus’ conniving partner in crime, and his mob of look-a-like henchmen, (all played by Louis Lombardi), as well as a gorgeously-lethal flamenco dancer played by Paz Vega, together with some other cardboard cut-outs.

As you have already gathered, the plot is as convoluted as it is absurd. The characters have all the charisma of a gooseberry flan, especially The Spirit himself, heroically yet ineffectively played by Macht (not the stuff of super heroes); although Jackson does seem to be enjoying himself in the flamboyant role of the Octopus. Despite all this, Miller’s script is spiced with some attempts at ironic humor, as well as lots of curves, cleavage, clones and cojones; giving the picture some zest, and his ensemble vigorously plunge themselves into the “noir” ambience, cheerfully tossing out quips and sexual innuendos.

Although the sets and art design are visually stunning and Miller is a master of imagery, the technique of using live actors against animated backgrounds is not quite as dynamic as it was for Sin City, three years back, or even the more recent 300, and the dismal setting of Central City is often overpowering. As opposed to Sin City too, the tedium is unrelieved by any subplots or alternative locations and the movie’s 108 minutes seems a whole lot longer. Made for an undeclared budget - but it couldn’t have been cheap - it has grossed just under $28 million since its US release on Xmas Day, although it is yet to open in some foreign territories.

THE SPIRIT (US 2008); Genre: Running time: 108 minutes; Rated PG-13; US distributor: Lionsgate; US release date: Dec. 25, 2008; International distributor: Sony Pictures; German release date: Jan. 29, 2009; Director/Writer: Frank Miller, based on the comic book series created by Will Eisner; Music: Michael Dennison; Main cast: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L Jackson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Scarlett Johansson, Dan Lauria, Paz Vega, Eric Balfour, Jaime King, Louis Lombardi; Cinematography: Bill Pope; Production designer: Rosario Provenza; Editor: Gregory Nussbaum

Summary: Rookie cop Denny Colt returns from the grave as The Spirit, a masked crusader whose mission is to fight crime and the evil pervading Central City, embodied by his arch-enemy, The Octopus, who is bent on destruction. Tracking the psychotic killer through the mean streets of the city, The Spirit must likewise face a bevy of beauties, all bent on murder, seduction - or both.