The Spirit (2008)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

People are voting emotionally.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This movie is exactly what it was marketed to be. A cliché conflicted hero movie.It's got the troubled but overall good hero/not really a hero, many gorgeous women (pointing at you Scarlett) and a ridiculous but amazing bad guy. The story line has been overdone to pieces, the dialogue is sometimes shady at best, but that's exactly w hat it's supposed to be.This is one of my favorite movies. Give it a shot before writing it off due to the reviews.

The Spirit (2008): Dir: Frank Miller / Cast: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Sarah Paulson: Color tainted laughable farce about abilities that go beyond normality. Director Frank Miller once again goes with black and white with tainted color and the result is exquisite but screenplay and acting are completely over the top and corny. He previously made the superior Sin City, which was made in similar manner. Gabriel Macht plays the Spirit crime fighter who cannot die. That's truly unfortunate due to the stupidity he will forever be surrounded with in this film. His spirit will live on in shame. Samuel L. Jackson plays the Octopus who searches for a treasure that can result in immortality. Jackson is at the mercy of lame dialogue making this one of his worst film appearances. Eva Mendes, in the one good performance, plays the Spirit's past love now jewel thief. Her change of heart is no surprise but she survives the idiocy surrounding her. Scarlett Johansson plays Octopus's female sidekick, and like Jackson, she is at the mercy of stupidity in one of her worst roles. Despite detailed structure the performances are as corny as the action leaving viewers unfulfilled and perhaps unimpressed. The special effects are the norm but cannot make up for the idiocy in the screenplay. The spirit surrounding this film is a negative one at best. Score: 4 ½ / 10

A movie that tries to cash in on the success of Sin City, and falls very far short. The special effects are similar to Sin City, both were written by Frank Miller and Miller co-directed Sin City and directed The Spirit, but that is where the similarities end. Sin City was one of the greatest movies of all time, this is trash. The plot, if it can be called that, is random at best. Clearly Miller also couldn't decide whether he wanted to make a comedy or a drama, as it seems to flip-flop between the two extremes. The dialogue tries to be snappy and witty, but just comes across as lame. The star-studded cast - Samuel L Jackson, Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Paz Vega - do the best they can with the lame script, but even they couldn't save this.The best part of the movie is the CGI, and even that is not too exciting, having seen all the effects before in Sin City.

Ultra-Stylistic Noir and Cheesecake Fun, Filmed and Framed like the Comic Book from Will Eisner in High-Artistic Frank Miller Fashion. It is Powerful Imagery with High-Contrast Black and White with Color Touches. Much Like Sin-City (2004) from the Frank Miller Comic, and the Author-Artist was Awarded Co-Director Credit on that Ground-Breaking Movie.But Folks Expecting the Gruesome Violence and Graphic-Gore that was so Unique in Sin-City may be a bit Disappointed with The Spirit. The Look is the Same but the Tone is Nowhere near as Dark. This One is Played Mostly for Humor, but there is Enough Action and Cool City Stuff that it Holds its Own in its Own Way and is True to the Source Material.It was a Big Flop and Critics Shredded it Without much Exception. But They were Unduly Harsh and this Movie will be Watchable Years from Now as Pop-Culture Iconic and Artistic Playfulness, whereas a lot of those that get Great Critical Acclaim, and Academy Awards will be Ignored and Dismissed.Recommended for Fans of the Character, Frank Miller's Style, and for those Searching for Something on the Edge and Atypical of Comic Book Movies in General. This is Film-Noir Once Removed and Placed in the Hands of Comic Book Artists and Digital Craftsman who have a Respect for and an Admiration for the Genre and the Initial Time Period of the 1940's that had the Vintage Spirit Character and Film-Noir.