The Spirit (Cert 12A) Cinema Review (From Runcorn and Widnes World)

The Spirit (Cert 12A) Cinema Review

4:57pm Monday 26th January 2009

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LEAPING from rooftop to rooftop in stark, black and white, rainslick surburbia, The Spirit’s grimy home is transformed into something beautiful here.

Dark and light tones mingle with dashes of red for this cinematic intepretation of the Will Eisner comics.

"Obviously, Miller is a better comic writer than screen writer as the dialogue is poor and the 'cartoon violence’ does not translate well on the screen."

David Morgan

Brought to the screen by Frank Miller, the creator of Sin City and 300, many fans hoped the series would be in safe hands.

But once you stop gawping at the fantastic CGI effects, there is nothing left but a dull and empty experience.

Even the amped up fight scenes fail to raise much of a thrill, while other bits are just plain weird. It was quite telling that rows of people left the screening.

Reminiscent of The Crow, it is the story of a cop (Gabriel Macht) who gets gunned down but comes back to life to seek vengeance and fight crime.

His arch nemesis is the equally supernatural Octopus (Samuel L Jackson), who, with the help of some clones and Scarlett Johansson, is seeking immortality.

Obviously, Miller is a better comic writer than screen writer as the dialogue is poor and the ‘cartoon violence’ does not translate well on the screen.

That said, The Spirit’s noir sensibilities rub off quite well giving the film a genuine retro feel in tribute to the comic’s 1940s origins.

It’s quite refreshing to see the cast act in the theatrical way you won’t have seen since you last tuned into something like Casablanca.

6/10 Lacking in spirit

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