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‘ It’s no argument that the comic book genre has taken the film industry by storm these last few years. With ‘Sin City’ and ‘300’ both box office sensations, writer/director Frank Miller seemed to be blessed with a golden lens, being a visionary and pioneer for the new innovative genre. Despite all this though, Miller’s latest work ‘The Spirit‘ failed to capitalize on his potential.
‘The Spirit’ tells the story of a police officer named Denny Colt (played by Gabriel Macht), who is gunned down in a line of fire, only to be mysteriously brought back to life. Discovering his power of immortality, Colt transforms himself into a masked superhero, watching over his beloved city and protecting it from criminals.
A conflict of interests arises in our hero, though, when it appears that his long, lost love Sand Saref (Eva Mendes) is seemingly placed in connection with infamous villain the Octopus (Samuel Jackson).
The story takes off from here as the Spirit attempts to learn the truth about his childhood sweetheart, while villain the Octopus works hard with his partner Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson) on a plan to wipe out the entire city.
While the filmed is blessed with a beautiful A-list cast and mesmerizing visuals, ‘The Spirit’ is severely wounded by it’s dull and predictable plotline and uninteresting character development. Like most of the movie’s audience, I have never even heard of the superhero the Spirit before, let alone read one of his comics as a child. So, unlike the Batman or Spiderman franchises, I went into this movie with absolutely no attachment to any character, and sadly, I went out of this movie with absolutely no attachment to any character. Along with a non-captivating storyline, the film was hurt once again by its poor dialogue. Scenes that were supposed to evoke feelings of suspense and surprise only left me laughing or rolling my eyes, all because of the unintentionally comical and corny word choice.
Despite a lackluster storyline, one thing ‘The Spirit’ can do is draw viewers in with its incredible visuals. Just like Miller’s previous works, ‘Sin City’ and ‘300,’ The Spirit’s definitive aspect is in an innovative use of color and the magic of a green screen.
While ‘The Spirit’ may be a step down from his previous works, Frank Miller will no doubt learn from his mistakes, and hopefully make his next film his biggest one yet. So while the story may be dull, The Spirit’s stunning visuals and the gorgeous Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes are reasons enough to make this movie worth the $3 rental.’
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