The Spirit: 5 out of 10: Somehow Frank Miller remaking the original Adam West Batman TV series has a wonderful poetry to it.... It doesn’t actually work mind you... but I can hear the beautiful music.
The Spirit got the kind of reviews usually reserved for recent comedies starring Michael Myers. (The Love Guru anyone) or recent horror films starring... um ... Michael Myers (Halloween 18 where Jamie Lee Curtis finally dispatches Michael Myers for good this time using active bacteria she found in her yogurt.) So to answer the first question on everyone’s mind is it that bad? No.
Frank Miller might not know a human emotion if one bit him in the googlies but he does know how to point a camera and keep it steady and in focus. This easily puts him ahead of many a Hollywood directorial Young Turk. He also has that nice black and white with color Sin City thing going that never seems to get old. He also utilizes the same weird camera angles that the old Batman TV show used to offer us and has the same minimalist interior sets. It is quite the complete homage.
The cast with one notable exception is also first rate. Eva Mendes gets naked in a PG-13 kind of way and puts her outfits to the test otherwise. The rest of the female cast certainly isn’t hard on the eyes either with Seychelle Gabriel as the young Mendes a particular standout. The Male villains provide much entertainment as well with Samuel L Jackson channeling the pop art TV Batman villain style right down to the henchman with their names on their shirts. (All played with excellence and good humor by Louis Lombardi)
So what went wrong????
Well a couple of things. As a stated above the cast is first rate with one notable exception. Unfortunately for the movie the exception is Gabriel Macht who plays the titular character. Gabriel Macht has less screen presence; charisma and God help us all apparent acting chops than Adam West.
There I have said it out loud... we should all give the Mr. Macht a moment alone while he does the only possible thing a man can do under such circumstances. (Sound of lone gunshot heard in distance).
Well now that unpleasantness is taken care off lets quickly cap off the other problems. The movie was too talky. It should have been R rated considering its cast, director and subject matter. (Neither Frank Miller nor Samuel L Jackson strike me as kiddy movie types.) The Spirit has always sucked as a superhero. Oh and Mr. Miller it is helpful if movies have a plot. You know a story explaining why the characters on screen are there and why they are doing what they are doing.
Other than that it is pretty watchable for what it is.... glad I didn’t spend ten buck on it though.
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Comments (2)
I totally forgot about this movie. I was so excited to see it but I guess the reviews threw me off. I'll have to try the rental now.
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