Here is a movie that I so very badly wanted to love. I love what Robert Rodriguez did with Sin City, not to mention what Zack Snyder did with 300. I felt fairly certain that Frank Miller could get something into similar territory when he stepped behind the camera for the first time by himself. No, I was not expecting The Spirit to be as good as Sin City or 300, both of which I love, but I was fully expecting this to challenge for a top ten spot on my annual list. Unfortunately, it is not that good; however, it is not that bad either. It is a very strange film that has a lot to like as well as a lot to seriously dislike.
The Spirit is a comic that I have zero experience with. I did a little research and it appears that the character is an important one to comic history. Created by Will Eisner, the character first appeared in 1940 and has been seen in a variety of interpretations ever since. Eisner's character was placed into all manner of stories from crime and noir to horror and comedy. It does not appear that the Spirit ever met a tale he did not like. He even had a well populated cast of supporting characters, both friend and villain, many of whom have survived the translation to the big screen.
What strikes me about what little I read is that what I saw on the screen does not completely jive with the impression I got of the character. That said, I further get the impression the film was made by someone with a deep passion for the character and its history. It also appears the person behind the film is not all that comfortable with writing for the screen. Frank Miller’s transition from the drawn page to the shot frame has been nothing if not a bit bumpy.
Miller's story has our hero, played by Gabriel Macht, facing off with one his mortal enemies, The Octopus, memorably portrayed by the inimitable Samuel L. Jackson. Their fight seems to be one that has been ongoing for some time, their lives intrinsically linked, neither ever able to get the upper hand on the other. When they are not fighting each other to a perpetual draw, Spirit is out fighting whatever crime he can under an agreement with Police Chief Dolan (Dan Lauria). Meanwhile, Octopus is working at finding an ancient artifact that will help him cement his power. Helping him are Silken Floss (Scarlet Johansson), a brilliant woman who keeps his operation going, and a seemingly endless supply of genetically engineered copycat goons (Louis Lombardi).
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