Will Eisner is arguably one of the most genius comic creators of our time, with a wicked sense of humour and irony. So who better to create a movie based on one of his most famous pulp serials, than another comic creator with a wicked sense of irony and the artistic, right?
Well, wrong actually.

Check the trailer here

The Spirit is a good movie, but whether it’s like the original comic that spawned it is up for a very long debate. The problem here is that it is, through to its spirit, a Frank Miller film. Perhaps not quite as stylised as Miller’s comics, and his cinematic take on Sin City
Problematically, Miller basically takes over the franchise in this manner, with slick CGI visuals that are amazingly ‘noire’. Fake environmental effects, fake lightning effects, a tie that could go head to head in a fight with Spawn’s cape from his own film… Well, you get the picture.
The casting was a bit odd too. Whilst the characters manage to pull off the amazingly hammy acting required of film-noire, they themselves don’t seem to fit the roles.
Samuel Jackson as “The Octopus” really doesn’t work for me, even though he does manage to act decently enough. I suppose it’s because I expect him to conclude that what was inside Marcellus Wallace’s briefcase was Jason’s Golden Fleece (That’ll make sense when you watch the movie). But where it really doesn’t work, and starts stepping into Tarantino Territory is when Miller actually casts himself in a cameo role.
Sorry Frank, you’re no Tarantino. You’re a great cartoonist, but Tarantino actually makes films that look different from each other. The only thing that stopped 300 from falling into this trap was that you forgot to add the iPod colour filter.
I realise I’m being negative here, but this is because this is one film that really didn’t live up to its source material. Hellboy managed this with a fair degree of aplomb. Maybe you should start doing some projects with Mignola to get reeled back in.

So I’m not really sure whether I recommend this movie or not.
Let’s put it this way: Did you like the film adaptation of Dick Tracey or The Shadow?

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1 Comment »

1. [...] Eisner’s probably glad he’s dead so he doesn’t have to listen you bitching about what they did with his stuff… Not that you’re reading this, but hey. Not even [...]

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