Through it all, Spirit's life is complicated by his hot/cold relationship with the Chief's daughter, Ellen (Sarah Paulson), and the return of a girl from his past, Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), and the inexplicable way any woman in his vicinity falls for him (not to mention his need to be "polite" to all of them).
Anyway, that is about all there is to the story. The way it plays out is more plot than story, as none of the characters have all that strong of a character arc to speak of. Looking for development of characters? Do you want to discover character motivations? Do you want an intriguing, noir-ish look into a world of comic crime? Well, you'd be better served revisiting Sin City. Not to say that what you need is not to be found here, it just is not all that interesting.
The dialogue is stilted, acting is over the top, the look is often downright cartoonish, and there is an odd comic relief strewn throughout. Sounds like I didn't like it, doesn't it? It is actually the opposite. All of these odd choices add up to a cinematic experience that held my attention, partially by how strangely awful it is, and partially how incredibly stylish it is. The combination is pretty interesting.
The Spirit has a look that is a cross between Sin City and 300, it has that distinct "digital backlot" look signifying a ton of green screen work. The images are composed in such a way that they could have only been laid out by someone well versed in a visual medium. The problem is that they all seem to have been set to be stills. Yes, the images are moving, but the intent is for them to be the panels of a comic, unlike what was done in Sin City, where panels were used as story boards from which to plan the action. The difference is a fine line, but one that is noticeable when watching the action move on the screen.
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