Today I went and saw "The Spirit" with my family. We went into it with the same expectations as everyone else that went and saw it. After "Sin City" you can see that Frank Miller has talent with graphic novel films. This one, however, was unimpressive. The issues I have with the film are these: the story, the editing, and the intensity.
The story was not very interesting. It became a romance by the end and bored the audience. There are some good action sequences and lots of quirky jokes but they come no where near "Sin City." I know these are two completely different films, however, you think there would be some defiant similarities when it comes to the writing style and direction. I saw none of it.
The editing was all over the place. Part of this comes from the writing because you can't edit something together unless there is something to edit. Parts of the film became so jumpy I had no idea what was going on. There were snippets of scenes that felt more like a preview or an overview of the actual sequence. I really wanted to get into the film and be pulling into the crazy reality of the world created; that wasn't happening. As soon as I felt the scene start to go somewhere it would cut to a whole different time or place.
Both these factors contribute to the intensity of the story. This could have been a compelling story even if it became a romance by the end. Most good stories do come from tragedy anyways. "The Spirit" unfolds as a strange diversion of what is to be expected, but not in a good way.
On the positive side it looked amazing. This style of filming is very cool to watch. The film noir stereotypes mixed in with comic book layouts. It's definatly amazing what they were able to do with color and framing. Out of all the comments I heard coming out of the theater, the most that were positive focused on the filming aspects of this movie. It looks really cool. I spend lots of time behind a camera and it is quite a feat to be able to create this style. Trying to visualize what they will be doing in post is hard espeically when most of the film is just actors in front of a green screen. I hear people saying that it's easy to film cause they can do what ever they want with the footage. This is true to an extent. If your not able to light someting right then in post you will never be able to match it up to the special effects. The same goes for framing. You have to know what the final product will look like in your head while shooting otherwise this type of film can never be created.
Overall I was entertained. It's not the worst film out there. I was just hoping for something new and fresh; a film to break from the current trend the industry is in. "The Spirit" is worth watching but will not astound or shock audiences.
(Movie Website)
Synopsis: Down these mean streets a man must come. A hero born, murdered, and born again. When a Rookie cop named Denny Colt returns from the beyond as The Spirit, a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces from the shadows of Central City. The Octopus who kills anyone unfortunate enough to see his face who has other plans. He's going to wipe out the entire city. The Spirit tracks this cold hearted killer from the 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 the masked crusader.
Trailer:
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