It looks like Sin City, walks like Sin City, and talks like Sin City. But it ain’t Sin City. Not that The Spirit is supposed to be Sin City, anyway. Both enterprises are born of comic book pages and both film treatments are helmed by comic book legend, Frank Miller. On Sin City, Miller had the advantage of making the film based on his own stories and characters plus the guiding hand of gifted director, Robert Rodriguez. This time around, Miller is riding in the director’s saddle solo. The Spirit boasts the same cinematic style that made Sin City such a crowdpleaser and a buzzworthy cast including the likes of Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson. Sounds like an instant hit but where does The Spirit rank next to recent comic book inspired masterpieces like The Dark Knight and Iron Man?


Gabriel Macht as The Spirit

Visually, The Spirit is just as tantalizing to look at as Eva Mendes is in one of those glitzy gowns her character, “Sand Serif”, struts in. Just like in Sin City most of the color is muted save for a few signature hues such as Spirit’s blazing red tie or his glowing eyes of cobalt blue. If you saw the “making of” docs for Sin City or 300 then you already know that most of the sets are completely digital. For the uninitiated, this means that in some scenes the actors are on a set that is completely covered in green or blue “screen”. Then the effects artists take the footage and transform the sparse soundstages into whatever their imaginations (or the director) dictates. In this case, you’re treated to a dark and gloomy metropolis that looks like it was ripped right from the pages of you favorite noir graphic novel. Just like in.....Sin City!

Action fans will enjoy seeing The Spirit leap from rooftop to fire escape as he traverses his beloved city looking for criminals to apprehend. Whenever Spirit and Mr. Octopus are onscreen together expect some kind of major display of violence either through overexaggerated fisticuffs in the muck or furious firefights on the city streets.
 

Director Frank Miller

The Spirit (Gabriel Macht) is a crimefighter that aids the Central City police in their war against crime. Spirit is able to heal rapidly from all sorts of injuries such as gunshots, impalements, and massive hits to the groin area. He also seems to be extremely agile as demonstrated by the scenes where Spirit leapfrogs across the city landscape and abnormal strength. The Spirit’s most wanted offender is Mr. Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) who shares a mysterious connection with the crusader. While trying to stay off of The Spirit’s radar Mr. Octopus and his assistant, Silken Floss (Scarlett Johannson) are on the hunt for a special ingredient that will imbue Octopus with immortality. Meanwhile, The Spirit’s childhood sweetheart, “Sand Serif” (Eva Mendes), is back in town but the evidence paints her as foe. Spirit must uncover Mr. Octopus’ master plan, get the dirt on Sand, and figure out the origin of his gnarly abilities. It’s a tough job but for someone that can recover from a shotgun blast to the chest in mere minutes this case is cake.

What I liked was Gabriel Macht as the titular hero. He’s got the body, the strong jaw, the killer smile, the gleaming eyes. Macht is a heartbreaker. This could be that major “break” in his career just as “Wolverine” rocketed Hugh Jackman to leading man status. Samuel L. Jackson is a hoot. I can imagine Jackson looking at all the wonderful stuff his character would get to do and all the wacky lines he would get to utter and promptly signed on. He’s arrogant and has the weapons, henchmen, and machinations to back up his inflated ego. Scarlett’s “Silken Floss” is practically the lovely straightwoman opposite Octopus’ antics. Jackson and Johannson’s team-up might seem odd on paper but their amusing exchanges produce some of the most amusing and memorable moments in the film. Sadly, Johannson only seems to shine brightest when trading quips with Jackson. Otherwise, Silken Floss is just a cute, bespectacled blonde with a nice rack.


S.L. Jackson (Mr. Octopus) and S. Johansson (Silken Floss)

Looks like Eva Mendes had so much fun being the “girl” in Ghost Rider that she decided to do an encore in The Spirit as Sand Serif. Through flashbacks we learn that Sand and Spirit grew up in the city but tragedy tore them apart. Years later Sand returns as a posh treasure hunter stirring up old memories and new problems for The Spirit. Mendes has proven herself a talented actress but it really seemed like she was chosen because she filled out her outfits so well. Maybe part of the reason Mendes accepted the role was because she would have the opportunity to look fabulous and sultry in virtually all of her scenes. Even when rising out of a lake in a wetsuit with trembling lips, slickbacked tresses, and half zippered up cleavage she looks so hot. Though Mendes looked great she suffered from the same affliction that many of her castmates did. Mendes looked like a model but her character seemed as flat as the page The Spirit was printed on. My favorite Sand scenes are of her youthful self seen in the flashbacks, portrayed by Seychelle Gabriel. Gabriel gives Sand so much fire and passion but when the torch is passed back to Mendes the flame is strangely reduced.


Eva Mendes as Sand Serif

I also must give an honorable mention to minor characters that helped the movie out in a major way. Firstly is Stana Katic who plays the eager new officer "Morgenstern" who is so full of pep that she makes all the other "Spirit women" look like mannequins. Then there's Octopus' cloned thugs. The henchman are all played by Louis Lombardi thanks to some creative digital effects. The clones sport t-shirts with names like "Pathos" and "Rancheros". The thug clones were primarily for comic relief and they were flawless in that capacity.


Stana Katic as "Morgenstern"

The timeframe of the movie simultaneously tickled me and annoyed me. Miller merged present time tech (skateboards, Blackberries, fully automatic assault rifles) with the staples of yesteryear’s crime stories (fedoras, narrative voiceovers from the main character, using the term “dame” when referencing a female). It worked in Batman: The Animated Series. It worked in Dark City. Didn’t work for me in The Spirit. The filmmakers should’ve just gone all the way back in the time machine instead of splitting the difference. Were they afraid the kids wouldn't recognize a rotary phone?

Getting back to the original question of how does The Spirit compare to the other comic blockbusters of the 2008 I would have to say it’s somewhere in the middle. The film looks great and sounds great. Artistically, it’s stunning but content wise The Spirit seemed to lack just that; spirit. Despite the gritty noir settings the movie seemed more like a parody of the crime sagas of the past rather than a homage. I never read the original Spirit comic books so I don’t know if that was the original tone of the stories. But I think the tongue-in-cheek approach hurt the dramatic effectiveness of the film. And while I enjoyed the bizarre scenes in Mr. Octopus’ lair in hindsight I think material like that further degraded the film into a live action cartoon.


Louis Lombardi.....and Louis Lombardi as Octopus' Henchmen

A good example of that is a scene where femme fatale, Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega) enters the room in a bejeweled belly dancer outfit and a really big sword. Yes, she looks great and even plants some nasty little daggers into The Spirit's shoulder as a preview to her deadly skills. But when it's time for Plaster to fully bare her fangs she comes up toothless because on top of the bad accent she isn't given enough opportunity to completely display why she's so dangerous. Instead, Plaster comes off as an embarrassing "Bond Girl" spoof. If that’s the kind of show Miller was aiming for then he succeeded with flying colors.


Paz Vega as "Plaster of Paris"

The Spirit isn’t a bad movie but if you’re expecting something technically sound like The Dark Knight or devilishly clever like Iron Man prepare to be somewhat disappointed. I can’t help but compare The Spirit to Dick Tracy. Both featured some highly stylised set pieces, over-the-top performances, and a detective that sported a unique fashion sense and work ethic. But Dick Tracy was not a spoof. There was a sense of depth to the plot and the characters. Maybe I’m being too critical but I really thought that The Spirit would have that same “oomph” as Sin City did. I felt The Spirit was an eye candy laden adventure full of excitement and humor but the lack of deep characterization and seriousness towards the source material made this diamond into a cubic zirconia.
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