Directed by: Frank Miller
Price: £19.99
Reviewed by Fergus McShane

[ratings]

Frank Miller’s first full directorial effort sees him in familiar territory, adapting Will Eisner’s comic book, The Spirit. But can he live up to his Sin City/ graphic novelist hype in his role as director?

Murdered cop, Denny Colt, somehow returns to life as the invulnerable protector of Central city, The Spirit. When an old flame
returns to town on a quest for jewels, he must battle with an equally invulnerable supervillain, The Octopus, to uncover the secret of his resurrection and save the city.

Unfortunately, The Spirit doesn’t quite hit expectations, becoming a noir-ish example of over-the-top cinematic indulgence. The ultra-stylized cinematography simply doesn’t work alongside clumsy, slapstick action and comedy – especially when Samuel L. Jackson’s
uncomfortably melodramatic parody of evil is thrown in the mix.

The Spirit seems to have gone the way of Dick Tracy and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, becoming too overwrought for its own good. And while comic adaptations are the flavour of Hollywood right now, perhaps Miller’s talents are better suited to working on pulp paper rather than the silver screen.

It is a pity, but The Spirit stumbles its way over the rooftops of Central City into an ostentatious display of CGI, allowing for little emotional connection with any characters in the process.

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