Poster of The Spirit

The Spirit

Action, Crime, Fantasy

Director: Frank Miller

Release Date: December 25, 2008

Where to Watch

I actually enjoyed The Spirit, which surprises me since I recently saw and was less than enthusiastic about Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. The Spirit has a completely different vibe from Frank Miller’s Sin City films. The Spirit is Frank Miller’s attempt at humor-it is like a live action cartoon. Think Coyote versus Road Runner. The Spirit is simultaneously for kids while being wholly inappropriatefor kids. Think a demented, sexier Dick Tracy. If you can get into The Spirit’s mentality, you will enjoy it, but if you can’t, it is irredeemably stupid, frustrating and one-dimensional. When watching The Spirit, approach it like a lighter Tarantino meets Unbreakable except less heavy-handed with the references that comics are today’s mythology drawn on ancient Greek vases. Out of all of Miller’s films, I actually preferred his women characters in The Spirit. It also doesn’t hurt that The Spirit has cats. I also think that without The Spirit, we may not have had Iron Man 2 and The Avengers that we know and love today, i.e. the brilliant pairing of Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson who play the villain and his beautiful, saner in comparison second in command. Eva Mendes does some great work here, and after seeing her in The Spirit and The Place Beyond The Pines, I realize that I may not give her enough credit for what seems like effortless, but is probably a lot of hard work. Give The Spirit a chance, but only if you have the time and patience to give it your complete attention without interruptions.

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