Movie review: The Spirit

Three words: style over substance.

by John P. Meyer

Frank Miller's new comic book actioner, The Spirit, is a piece of work done in the broadest of strokes. It wouldn't know "subtle" if it (subtle) bit it (The Spirit) in its delicate hangy-down parts.

Which will probably prove workable for a small segment of the film's audience, that segment being roughly 13- to 17-year-old males. For younger kids (and those of the feminine persuasion), the violence quotient is pretty heavy (thus the PG-13 rating); for older and/or more demanding filmgoers, the story line is just too darn sappy.

In (overly) reverential deference to their comic book origins, the characters in The Spirit overplay their emotions to the point of pantomime. The cinematography, while less stylized and manipulated than in Sin City (Miller's prior directing effort), still relies heavily on that desaturated, re-toned, hyperfocused iconic look.

Speaking of characters, our main one (formerly a cop named Denny Colt; now a shadowy super-cop who goes by - well, you know) has little use for automobiles, preferring to hot foot it across electric lines while traveling from one part of his beloved city to another. He can't exactly fly, but he does pull a pretty convincing Remo Williams stunt on a run-down apartment building's outdoor fire escape.

The reason for his acrobatic cross-city travel has to do with the nefarious activities of a less-than humble villain named The Octopus (not to be confused with Doctor Octopus), portrayed with all his might by Samuel L. Jackson. Assisting this particular Octopus (who also happens to be a doctor) is a low-key charmer named Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson, being expressionless with all her might - and that's mighty expressionless).

What is Ms. Floss assisting The Octopus with, exactly? Well, it's got to do with an urn full of blood belonging (formerly) to mythical Grecian hero Heracles. Peripherally, it also has to do with Jason's (of Argonaut fame) Golden Fleece - but only peripherally, since the fleece can't confer god-ism on he who imbibes it like the blood of Heracles purportedly can. (However, the fleece does serve as really nifty - and stylish! - body armor.)

The character who actually DOES have an interest in the fleece is Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), who used to be Denny Colt's girlfriend when they were both much younger, but that's another backstory. The slinky Ms. Saref is currently some sort of globe-prancing super-thief, and she's wound up back on her home turf only because the fleece has, too - she'd like to get hold of it and get back out of town on the next flight, but her acquisition of the Jason relic is complicated by the Octopus' unexpected and untimely intervention.

Where does all this leave The Spirit (Gabriel Macht, filling out the mask with all his might)? Well, it keeps him hopping in and out of the reach of various active, dormant and incipient girlfriends, for one thing, including Ellen Dolan (the lovely and wholesome-looking Sarah Paulson), the aforementioned Sand Saref (Ms. Mendes, anything but wholesome) and the homicidal yet alluring Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega, bellydancing her way into his heart - while piercing his shoulder with cocktail olive skewers). Waiting in the beat cop wings is a rookie named Morgenstern (Stana Katic), who wields a mean - um - exotic munition-hurling thingy.

But The Octopus is who The Spirit really needs to concentrate on, and the chief thing one needs to remember about The Octopus is that he has eight of everything. Including guns-to-hand. And some fine and fancy firearms they are, including matched pairs of 1) Desert Eagles, 2) custom Mag-Na-Ported big bore revolvers and 3) sawn-off double-barreled shotguns - though these last don't make an appearance until the final knock-down drag-out.

The style of the production is an odd mix of vintage and modern, with characters flying around in a Ford Trimotor in one scene and gabbing on their cell phones in the next. And then there's those INCREDIBLY ANNOYING clones (played by Louis Lombardi) created by Doctor Evil (I mean, The Octopus), named randomly and identifiable only by their t-shirt inscriptions. Think of these chatter-happy mindless minions as the Jar Jar Binkses of this particular cinematic outing.

I've undoubtedly wasted far too many words on this sadly disappointing film, so I'll end with just these few: style over substance.

DEEP, DEEP (DEEP) THOUGHTS: "Spirit, that cliff I'm talking about? There's no bottom. Don't jump." - Commissioner Dolan (Dan Lauria)

SUCH AS, "MY CHARACTER SHOULD BE MULTI-DIMENSIONAL": "I feel like breaking all the rules." - Ellen

ZZZZzzzz... : "He's like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe - it just won't let go!" - Octopus

• Staff
• Verified User
• Anonymous