Nope, 'The Spirit' movie doesn't work in Zaire, either (Post Online)

All-star cast cannot save story
2009/09/04

BASED on the graphic novel by Will Eisner, this film is a prime example of the film makers spending too much on the visual effects and the cast’s salaries, and not paying enough attention to telling a decent story.

Given that it is directed by Frank Miller, the man behind Sin City and 300, you will know what to expect visually – although real actors are used, it has the feel of reading a graphic novel, complete with all the comic book violence.

Told in film noir style, it focuses on the rivalry between The Spirit (Gabriel Macht) and The Octopus (Samuel L Jackson), two immortals with super powers who regularly beat each other senseless, even if they are unable to kill each other. There’s also a sub-plot involving The Spirit’s childhood sweetheart Sand Seref (Eva Mendes) who has now turned evil and is seeking to get her hands on the Golden Fleece from ancient mythology.

At the same time The Octopus is trying to get the blood of Hercules. Don’t ask why, it doesn’t make much sense.

Click HERE to keep reading!

Lead on, Spirit! (The Unique Geek)

By RavenFace

December 18, 2008

Let’s get it out of the way. The Spirit, in wide release Dec. 25th, is not a straight-forward adaptation of the Will Eisner comic strip. That always seems to be the “concern” of the comic fan, and it rings hollow, a standard applied to justify having read the source material. In essence, by asking if something is “faithful” to the source, they are saying, “I’ve read this, and I want credit for it. I did Prague before they built the McDonalds. I was into The Strokes back when they played in my friend’s loft.” Get over yourself, Spirit “fan,” a movie needs to be judged on its own merits. The majority of people who see it have never heard of the character, don’t want to hear you talk about it and don’t want fries with that.

So, what will they find, this fresh new audience? After the previews (through which many will have fingers crossed for a glimpse of Terminator Salvation), they will be met with a disembodied voice over and a floating woman’s unseen face, all stabby light and murky moan, calling for the soul of the Spirit. It’s disorienting, but hope remains. We’ve just started, and maybe the light will clear up and we’ll see her. She might be hot! Then some credits and some atmosphere, and then Eva Mendes rising from the water, and it’s unclear whether or not she has super powers or maybe she’s the same woman from the pre-credit sequence, and then The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) is talking about eggs and throwing a toilet at The Spirit (Gabriel Macht), and people are killed but don’t die and you realize it’s a cartoon. You’ve unwittingly paid to see an homage to Merrie Melodies.

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Frank Miller, Don't Read This, Part 14 (i09.com)

"Most of the people eagerly awaiting the Frank Miller-ized movie of Will Eisner's amazing comic The Spirit have never actually read the original comic. So they probably don't have a sense for the difference between the comic and Miller's campy Sin City-esque vision for the film version. So as a public service, we're presenting the best 12 splash pages featuring Will Eisner's masked hero, to show once and for all why Miller can't hope to bring their genius to life.

"From the visuals we've seen so far, Miller's distinctive vision seems to have scrapped the rapidly switching genre for his own usual film noir feel, as you can see in the poster at left. The high profile of the Spirit's female paramours also marks a shift from the original comic. There's also a major emphasis on a villain who's never directly represented in the comics, Samuel L. Jackson's The Octopus. Yet there was considerable brilliance in the original strip's directors of photography. Pioneer Will Eisner and his legendary group of collaborators pushed the form forwards in stunning artwork that deserves to be seen by all."
— By Alex Carnevale, writing at io9.com, "12 Splash Will Convince You Frank Miller Shouldn't Adapt The Spirit." Click HERE to Keep Reading!

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