The Spirit
Cast: Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Gabriel Macht
Dir: Frank Miller
Rating: 2/5
After the success of Sin City and 300 it's the turn of Will Eisner comic book superhero The Spirit that has received the big screen treatment with Sin City writer Frank Miller behind the camera for the first time.
Former rookie cop who returns mysteriously from the dead as the Spirit (Gabriel Macht) to fight crime from the shadows of Central City. His arch-enemy, the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) has a different mission: he’s going to wipe out Spirit's beloved city as he pursues his own version of immortality.
The Spirit tracks this cold-hearted killer from Central City’s rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront ... all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill our masked crusader.
But surrounding him at every turn are Ellen Dolan (Sarah Paulson), the whip-smart girl-next-door; Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), a punk secretary and frigid vixen; Lorelei (Jaime King), a phantom siren; and Morgenstern (Stana Katic), a sexy young cop.
Then of course, there’s Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), the jewel thief with dangerous curves. She’s the love of his life turned bad. Will he save her or will she kill him?
It's difficult to know where to begin with this film it looks great the inky graphic style that worked so well in Sin City as well, although it doesn't look as slick.
The major problem here is Frank Miller moving from writer of a graphic novel to directing a film is a big step and it's obvious that he has never directed a movie before the pace is uneven and the script is so chaotic that it really doesn't work.
In the experienced hands of say Robert Rodriguez multiple characters worked well for Sin City but Miller struggles to work with the many characters in the script, which is a shame as there are some really good names on display here that possibly weren't used to their full effect.
There is nothing really that works in favour for The Spirit the script is a jumbled mess, the clashes between the film's arch enemies The Spirit and The Octopus are so forgettable and Samuel L Jackson, who is possibly the only thing worth watching, descending into a mad man.
It doesn't help that the leading man Gabriel Macht really is a bit of an unknown and he doesn't have the presence or the ability to lead the movie pair that with an inexperienced director that fails to animate his cast and it really does fall flat.
With the likes of Dark Knight comic book fans have been treated to some great movies in this genre in the last year but The Spirit is not going to join that elusive list. In more experienced hands this film was could have been a cinema spectacle but unfortunately Miller should leave directing well alone.
The Spirit is out now
Helen Earnshaw