Avoid the Spirit Movie if you read (& liked) the comic

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 8:22 pm

I saw this movie today and Frank Miller should be ashamed of what he did to the Spirit. I'd say Eisner was spinning in his grave, but by all accounts Eisner was a very even-keeled and generous man, so I think he'd just be disappointed.

Miller changed up the origin to give Spirit "powers", tied the Octopus into his origin (a'la pre-Joker Joker shooting Bruce's parents in the Tim Burton Batman flick, and the Sandman getting tied into Spider-Man's origin in SM3), changed the color of his costume, and in many other ways played fast-and-loose with things that should not and did not need to be changed about the Spirit to make this film.

This would have been a much better film had I never read a Spirit strip in my life, that way I would be unaware of all the stuff that Miller was screwing with that didn't need screwing with. The sad thing is that I expect mindless/soulless Hollywood "suits" to F-up comic movies to put their mark on them. I expected a LOT more from Miller who was supposed to have a lot of respect for Eisner and his seminal creation.

ctowner1 · Post by **ctowner1** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 12:02 am

Too bad. I was afraid it would be something like this. I'll still probably see it though, just to form my own opinion. But thanks for the heads up...I suspect the lower the expectations, the better for this film! lol

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MaxL · Post by **MaxL** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 1:17 am

Judging by the scores on Rotten Tomatoes (14%) and Metacritic (31/100 from the critics, 2.8/10 from the users) I think it's more 'avoid this movie.'

HassanT · Post by **HassanT** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 9:22 am

Honestly, as a fan of movies, this movie looked horrible. Both my wife and brother asked me if I was going to see the Spirit movie and when I said no, they were shocked.

I might like comic books, but it doesn't mean I have to see ever comic book movie.

I guess based on the performance and reviews of this movie, we will probably see more Frank Miller comics, although I am not sure that is necessary a good thing.

spid · Post by **spid** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:22 am

Since I have never read the Spirit I will probably go see this movie next weekend. It looks like Sin City lite which, to me isn't that bad a thing.

Frank Castle · Post by **Frank Castle** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:57 pm

This will be a rental for me. I've read a little Spirit and this does look like a steamy pile of rubbish, so I'll wait until it is at the Redbox and I'm only out a buck!

Lord Shaper · Post by **Lord Shaper** » Sun Dec 28, 2008 4:03 am

I'm debating about seeing this... I've never read anything about The Spirit but I'm sure I've been told enough to know what is going on with it.

I might wait for a DVD on this one tho since I still have to get Hulk and Hellboy 2 viewed before anything else.

IanG · Post by **IanG** » Mon Dec 29, 2008 11:14 am

I saw "The Spirit" over weekend and it's basically just eye candy. Unlike Bob, I hadn't read Eisner's comics but I'm familiar with the story. Frank Miller's visuals are nice to look at but there isn't much heart to the story. There are a few funny gags which made me laugh. The women he cast are all beautiful and look great in the movie. The acting isn't very good which is interesting because these are usually all good actors. I don't think Frank Miller knows how to get a performance out of an actor on a blue screen. The acting is as bad as it was in the "Star Wars" prequels. That being said, if you were entertained by "Sin City" and "300," then you will probably like this movie a little. Although, Spirit would be on the bottom of those three. It's too bad because this is Miller's first solo work on a movie, he wrote/directed, and it flopped in eyes of critics and at the box office. On a side note, I thought the posters and branding for the movie all looked fantastic.

comicm · Post by **comicm** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:10 pm

Well I saw it and since I don't like negativity the only thing I will say is "The women were very nice to look at....". That is all I can say about this film that is positive.

BobBretall · Post by **BobBretall** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 11:38 pm

comicm wrote:Well I saw it and since I don't like negativity the only thing I will say is "The women were very nice to look at....". That is all I can say about this film that is positive.

I wish I has your restraint, Mike..... I DO agree with your positive point.

afroloq · Post by **afroloq** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 10:05 am

IanG wrote:I saw "The Spirit" over weekend and it's basically just eye candy. Unlike Bob, I hadn't read Eisner's comics but I'm familiar with the story. Frank Miller's visuals are nice to look at but there isn't much heart to the story. There are a few funny gags which made me laugh. The women he cast are all beautiful and look great in the movie. The acting isn't very good which is interesting because these are usually all good actors. I don't think Frank Miller knows how to get a performance out of an actor on a blue screen. The acting is as bad as it was in the "Star Wars" prequels. That being said, if you were entertained by "Sin City" and "300," then you will probably like this movie a little. Although, Spirit would be on the bottom of those three. It's too bad because this is Miller's first solo work on a movie, he wrote/directed, and it flopped in eyes of critics and at the box office. On a side note, I thought the posters and branding for the movie all looked fantastic.

Agreed...except...I was really entertained by Sin City and 300 ...this..? No.

Can I have my 8 bucks back please?