The Spirit (Frank Miller, 2008)

[Antoine Doinel]

Yet another poster.

[moviscop]

It looks stylish, like Watchmen or 300, but I still am convinced it will have a 6.2 on IMDb and bomb at the box office.

[Cde.]

I am convinced it will have 7.5+ on IMDB.

[moviscop]

I am convinced it will have 7.5+ on IMDB.

i dunno man, it seems to lighthearted for the dark sin city style.

but, frank miller directing might bring out more fans and comic lovers. he could be amazing at directing. who knows.

i still stick with my 6.2

[swo17]

These are some pretty bold claims guys. You had better be prepared to back them up with some IMDb-caliber evidence.

[Antoine Doinel]

A whole bunch of new stills.

[solaris72]

I feel these stills give us crucial insight into Frank Miller's directorial style.



Guy: "I bet we could put some bullshit right here!"

Frank Miller: "You know, you're right; we could indeed put some stupid bullshit right there."

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

That is one of the stupidest hats I've ever seen on a director's head. Doesn't he know that the beret is the true auteur's chapeau of choice? O:)

[dr. calamari]

I've never been less inclined to see a movie based on the evidence of how bad the stills are than I am this one. It looks like a career-wrecker for everyone involved, which in Frank Miller's case wouldn't be a bad thing. His middle name must be Hubris.

[chaddoli]

Would this movie please just go away already

[Antoine Doinel]

New Christmas themed TV spot.

[Antoine Doinel]

In front of the Transporter 3 preview I saw tonight (I know, I know -- I had free tickets, and yes, it was absolutely awful), there was another new trailer for The Spirit (which I imagine will go online sometime this week). It was easily the longest and best trailer to date, toning the camp factor way down, and coming off as more of a big serving of pulp. I thought it was great. That said, it's becoming more and more apparent that this film will only go over well with those not familiar with the source material (like me).

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

That said, it's becoming more and more apparent that this film will only go over well this not familiar with the source material (like me).

At least you might get something from it. I'm worried about the people who flocked to see 300. It continually amazes me how Miller's admiration for Eisner somehow fails to trickle down to Miller's fans. I'd assume that they'd have enough intelligence to appreciate both of them. Myspace had a trailer for the film running a few weeks ago and it gave me creeps. I was a little amazed that Miller could stuff four heroines into the movie. I'd think a movie just about Spirit and San Serif would have been adequate. Obviously, I'm out of touch with the studio's demographic, but it's been enough for me just to see the trailers.

[Forrest Taft]

In front of the Transporter 3 preview I saw tonight (I know, I know -- I had free tickets, and yes, it was absolutely awful), there was another new trailer for The Spirit (which I imagine will go online sometime this week).

No need to apologize for having seen Transporter 3 in a thread devoted to The Spirit...Every Frank Miller related movie so far has been a lot worse than any of the previous Transporter movies. Anyway, the camp factor hinted at in the earlier trailers is the only reason why I might see this one. Aren´t the comics supposed to be rather funny, or am I misinformed? I know humor isn´t very popular in Hollywood today; blockbusters are supposed to be dark, grim, gritty, etc., but I wouldn´t mind if The Spirit actually turned out to be fun, which is more than I can say of 300 and Sin City.

[dr. calamari]

In front of the Transporter 3 preview I saw tonight (I know, I know -- I had free tickets, and yes, it was absolutely awful), there was another new trailer for The Spirit (which I imagine will go online sometime this week).

No need to apologize for having seen Transporter 3 in a thread devoted to The Spirit...Every Frank Miller related movie so far has been a lot worse than any of the previous Transporter movies. Anyway, the camp factor hinted at in the earlier trailers is the only reason why I might see this one. Aren´t the comics supposed to be rather funny, or am I misinformed? I know humor isn´t very popular in Hollywood today; blockbusters are supposed to be dark, grim, gritty, etc., but I wouldn´t mind if The Spirit actually turned out to be fun, which is more than I can say of 300 and Sin City.

I've never been more eager to miss a movie than I am The Spirit, and I am familiar with Eisner's original work. I'll probably incur some serious "nerd wrath", but the comics weren't all that impressive. About the best thing I can say about them is they were well drawn and the layouts were usually interesting. Sorry if this offends some comics fans, but it really didn't do much for me.

[exte]

Ebert knocks the shit out of it!

"The Spirit" is mannered to the point of madness. There is not a trace of human emotion in it. To call the characters cardboard is to insult a useful packing material.

[skeets kelly]

my favorite comic character of all time and i know miller is going to break my heart with this movie.

but, how can i complain about it if i don't see it?

bah!

[dr. calamari]

Ebert knocks the shit out of it!

"The Spirit" is mannered to the point of madness. There is not a trace of human emotion in it. To call the characters cardboard is to insult a useful packing material.

I guess he's kind of lukewarm about it.

[flyonthewall2983]

That the writer of both RoboCop sequels has any clout in Hollywood at all astounds me. And I liked Sin City, for what it was anyway.

[HarryLong]

Oh dear.
I am a fan of Eisner's stories and just this sentence alone alerts me to avoid this movie like the plague:
"At one point, The Spirit takes three bullets in the forehead, leans forward and shakes them out. At another, he is skewered by a broadsword."

[CSM126]

Not that I'm adding any unique insight here but sweet fuck was this movie shitty. Not funny, not coherent, not the least bit interesting...just jaw-droppingly inept. This is the kind of bad movie that just leaves you in awe as you watch and, yes, it actually does get worse as it goes along. I don't know whether to be angry or (as a connoisseur of terrible cinema) weirdly proud that I paid to see this in a theater.

Also, someone please tell me that I'm not the only one who's sick of this Frank Miller "stylized" visual crap. Needlessly rotoscoping your characters so they look like Rorschach blots isn't art, it's stupid. And the funny part is that there are several moments where they, um...forgot to do that. There's just random cutaways to un-processed live action shots if the city that clearly aren't finished. That's embarrassing.

[skeets kelly]

gee, frank, thanks for making up 90% of the story so it practically has no connection to eisner's original concept.

at least he waited for will to die before he totally fucked him.

in the words of my wife: "i don't even think bad movies are all that bad and i thought it sucked."

[jojo]

Frank never had an artist's eye. NEVER. And this is coming from someone who's enjoyed his comics (in the 80s).

Aside from his dodgy draftsmanship, he was never the best at laying out a page (or even panel, for that matter) with any kind of pictorial sense or artistry. His attempts at visual creativity were usually OK at best, but horrible when he whiffed. As a writer, he's good with the "grim and gritty" stuff but that's ALL he knows how to do.

So I'm not surprised when I hear the same criticisms for his movies. The thing is, comics fans are more forgiving--put that shit out in the open and you'll get shredded.

[dx23]

Not that I'm adding any unique insight here but sweet fuck was this movie shitty. Not funny, not coherent, not the least bit interesting...just jaw-droppingly inept. This is the kind of bad movie that just leaves you in awe as you watch and, yes, it actually does get worse as it goes along. I don't know whether to be angry or (as a connoisseur of terrible cinema) weirdly proud that I paid to see this in a theater.

Also, someone please tell me that I'm not the only one who's sick of this Frank Miller "stylized" visual crap. Needlessly rotoscoping your characters so they look like Rorschach blots isn't art, it's stupid. And the funny part is that there are several moments where they, um...forgot to do that. There's just random cutaways to un-processed live action shots if the city that clearly aren't finished. That's embarrassing.

You just worded my same exact feelings. I went to see this thing last night and there aren't enough words to describe how horrendous this film is. Besides the fact that Miller just invented almost everything and stayed pretty much away from the Eisner stories, the screenplay was just awful. By the way, what the fuck was the constant mentioning of eggs by Octopus? You could have a drinking game just basing it on how many times eggs are mentioned in the film.

[conspirator12]

Hey guys, thought I'd weigh in here. I don't buy this assertion that Frank Miller has never had an artist's eye. I think Ronin, Elektra Lives Again, and Sin City (among others) contain some absolutely beautiful artwork, not to mention innovative panel layouts. Visually, The Spirit is the most interesting film I've seen come out of Hollywood in a long time. The plot is completely ridiculous, of course, but what did you expect? Miller has been certifiably insane since the early 1990s. I laughed with the movie and I laughed at it. Obviously, Miller has some way (okay, a lot) to go in terms of becoming a competent director, but I can't say I didn't enjoy this over-the-top, beautiful, ludicrous comic book sprung to life. If you can swallow some ridiculousness and get over the fact that Miller is not a "realistic" artist or writer, go and have a good time. Sam Jackson has to be seen to be believed.