Review--The Spirit
January 6th 2009 17:06
This movie, based on the comic book of the same name by Will Eisner, is a bizarre and ludicrous real-time crash course through the comic, which was already very strange in the first place.
Directed by Frank Miller and featuring a well-known cast, I went into this movie expecting another blood-drenched, testosterone-dripping gorefest like 300, but as usual, the trailers and TV spots had misled me. There wasn't a whole lot of blood--though there was a lot of (rather comical) punching and shooting.
Instead of the serious action/drama advertised on TV, this movie was really a silly and playful comic book adaptation. I thought the cinematography was quite unique; it really looked like a comic book come to life. The dark, sepia colors reminded me of old noir films. I really appreciated the innovativeness of the use of colors and camera angles.
Even though I'd never read the comics, I could tell that this was an attempt to replicate the comic and its nuances on film, rather than attempting to make a completely new version for the big screen. I think they did a good job in this aspect--I just wish they'd picked a less bizarre and surreal comic series to replicate.
I felt left out of the loop throughout most of the movie. Since I hadn't read the comics, I had no idea why certain characters were named like they were, and a lot of the background information was muddled; what little information I did receive came from flashbacks in monologue style from The Spirit himself. This was one aspect that I did not appreciate: in movies especially, the literary concept of "show, don't tell" is extremely important. All this telling of backstory started to bore me a little.
I'm not going to claim that this was a good movie or a bad movie: it depends on your perspective. I found it enjoyable, laughing at its silly dialogue and unrealistic combat and marveling at its daring filming style. Knowing it was based on a comic book, and a fairly obscure one at that, I didn't go in expecting a top-rate drama or action flick. I thought of what this film was trying to accomplish, and I thought that its mission was achieved.
However, if the producers didn't intend for the movie to be silly and bizarre, then something obviously went terribly wrong. If they did intend these things, then kudos to them. I would have understood more if I'd read the comics, but if the movie was faithful to the source material, then perhaps I would never want to read the comics, anyway. The characters are bizarre, their dialogue is silly and unrealistic, and the whole premise is kind of tired and confused. A fun little flick to watch once just for the sake of making fun of it, but in the end it's easily forgettable.
Cinemuscle score: 2.5/5
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