Frank Miller's THE SPIRIT in Second Takes on Films of the 2000s Forum

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Frank Miller's THE SPIRIT

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BijouBob8mm		#161	[-]
Dec 30 08 9:23 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	If we are lucky though, somebody will get a legit DVD release of the Spirit tv movie put out in the resulting hype. It's not a fan favorite to most folks, but I like the light goofy action (and it sure doesn't hurt that Nana Visitor is Ellen Dolan). I've been hoping someone might dust off the TV movie ever since the Frank Miller production was announced. In addition to THE SPIRIT and FLASH GORDON, Sam Jones also did a third comic-inspired movie, 1987's JANE AND THE LOST CITY. Pretty much a cheese & eye candy outing, but fun if you're in the right frame of mind. (Brought to DVD by Anchor Bay, the fine folks who gave us 1989's BRENDA STARR.) Was toying with catching Miller's film on New Year's Eve, prior to dinner and drinks afterward, but everyone I've mentioned those plans to has pretty much said the same thing: The film is very stylish in appearance, but can't seem to make up its mind if it wants to be serious or cheesy. Is it really that uneven a blend? Last Edited By: BijouBob8mm Dec 30 08 9:28 AM. Edited 1 times.
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Bill Warren		#162	[-]
Dec 30 08 3:22 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	In his own writing, Frank Miller doesn't display very much of a sense of humor, beyond the kind of sarcasm often utter through gritted teeth. Maybe someone told him Eisner's "Spirit" stories were often funny, so he wanted the movie to be funny at times, too, but the only example of Funny Super Hero he had to go by was the Adam West "Batman" show....???
HalLane		#163	[-]
Dec 30 08 10:17 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Bill Warren wrote: Maybe someone told him Eisner's "Spirit" stories were often funny, so he wanted the movie to be funny at times, too, but the only example of Funny Super Hero he had to go by was the Adam West "Batman" show....??? Well, there was a 'Superman: The Movie' joke too, uttered by none other than DC head honcho Paul Levitz. And a dig at 'Star Trek' also. Samuel L. Jackson seemed to have a pretty good grasp of what was funny ( "No egg on my face!!") and what was "serious". I chuckled quite a bit, mostly at the comics related name checking (which was copious), and laughed out loud at least once. Maybe my amusement was a little forced. But in fairness, and I may be flirting with heresy here, I've gotta say that a lot of the humor that Eisner put into The Spirit very often came across as a little forced also, as if he felt obligated by the nature of the "funny papers" -- Eisner's "bigfoot" approach could be as jarring as anything Miller came up with. I sometimes got the impression reading Eisner that he was champing at the bit to play it more 'straight', but felt perhaps he couldn't. Well, they repaired the transformers and restored the power yesterday, so I went back to the theatre to catch the rest of the movie. And as much as I love a free ducat, I'd have gladly paid to see THE SPIRIT again: I liked the second half even more! I was sad when it ended so soon, and very sorry to be leaving those characters behind. From the opening titles to Christina Aguilera's end title rendition of 'Falling In Love Again', I enjoyed the whole thing immensely. Still haven't caught up with the movie version of SIN CITY, but apart from that, I felt this was the best "live action cartoon" movie I can remember seeing, and I include SKY CAPTAIN and the last three Star Wars movies in that assessment. Yeah, I realize I'm in the minority on this, but here's my take. A few years ago a friend of mine, a voracious reader of comics and literature in general, was at the San Diego Comicon, having breakfast in the restaurant one morning. Some young fans were waxing enthusiastic over the latest 'flavor of the month' comic book superstar (one of the Image guys, probably), how great he was, blah blah blah. And sitting in a booth right nearby were Will Eisner and Frank Miller, deep in friendly conversation about something. And my friend just wanted to shake these kids and say "Look, guys -- there's the History of Comics sitting right there next to you!" I know people are saying they don't get a lot of Eisner coming across in THE SPIRIT. But watching Frank Miller put The Spirit through his paces up on that big screen, I couldn't shake the feeling of being a fly on the wall at that breakfast in San Diego, where two comics legends were shooting the breeze one summer morning.
riotengine	Lionsgate dis-Spirited over failure of Miller's film	#164	[-]
Dec 31 08 6:24 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	http://uk.imdb.com/news/ni0638888/ GREG ESPINOZA I made it possible for you to come here! I welcomed you to this Earth, you made it a charnel house! http://www.comicspace.com/gregespinoza/
drmedula		#165	[-]
Dec 31 08 7:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hal, if you haven't seen SIN CITY yet, it sounds like you should- because it really IS a Miller comic literally brought to life on the screen. The complaints about THE SPIRIT people are making don't apply to THAT film at all.
Hausenfan		#166	[-]
Dec 31 08 8:00 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Neither Miller or anyone else could capture the feeling Eisner's drawings evoke. The man was a true genius. To experience his world, read the comics.
Domenick Fraumeni		#167	[-]
Dec 31 08 8:05 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	O'kay I saw this today. Used one of my free passes, so maybe I was in a better mood then had I spent 9 bucks or so. This is a comedy. NO doubt whatsoever. Sam Jackson seemed to have thought so, as he's clearly playing way over the top. The miniature head on foot scene was pretty funny. The ladies, seemed to have thought as well, but lack the experience to pull it off. Jamie King is all but wasted here, covered up in CGI glitter and shadows as Death. Hardly noticeable, which is a shame. Eva Mendes does look great, she really is the Latina Cindy Crawford of today, but Scarlett Johansson makes great eye candy, even when dressed up in fashionably sexy librarian wear. Yeah, I got that weakness for blondes. It'll kill me one day, but I've learned to live with it . Big problem here is, Frank Miller's really not that great at comedy. Oh, the occasional funny one liner here and there over the years, and I like the wordplay on the shirts of Octopus's henchman clones, who all act straight out of the old Batman T.V. And the swamp/mud fight between Octopus and Spirit was hysterical. All it was missing was animated stars and birds over their heads. But, Miller's direction lacks the pacing to make the comedy work. This is very much a send up of Superhero comics, but it requires someone who has comedic timing and can encourage their cast to play it up that way. Miller fails to pull that off all the way, so he winds up with something that's in between. I, and some others in the auditorium laughed at some of the more outrageous moments, and this is a very over the top film. It just needed a more sure hand to get the point across. Beautiful images, great framing, tech credits all top notch. An interesting idea, brought down by an inexperienced director with a good idea, but lacking the means to pull it off successfully. Not the worst film of the year by any means. Just...well, it could've been better.
Herbert West		#168	[-]
Jan 3 09 6:43 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I've read the above comments. I thought The Spirit couldn't be as bad as you say. I loved Sin City ( but then I never read the book) And I liked 300 but again never read the original material. I have read a lot of the Spirit and maybe that's why I absolutely hated this. Not even close to what Eisner did. The original Spirit movie is way closer to Eisner and it was a TV movie. I was really looking forward to this. Big Disappointment. Also for any one interested check out the dvd Caveman: V.T. Hamlin & Alley Oop. It was produced by a friend of mine and Max Allen Collins. It has the last interview with Will Eisner in the extras.
reddog122		#169	[-]
Jan 10 09 8:37 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Check out comic artist Kyle Baker's hilarious review of the perception of not only Frank Miller's The Spirit but also Will Eisner's The Spirit: http://thebakersanimation.../movie-review-spirit.html
Wich2		#170	[-]
Jan 10 09 12:24 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Snarkily witty, but (as usual, with snark) deftly evading the main points. (Smells like Baker is trying to shore up what Miller's done, so he can get a shot at same...)
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Andy Sheets		#171	[-]
Jan 14 09 2:54 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I think he's just making fun of fan outrage. Whether you like the movie or not (I thought it was terrible), a lot of the outcry against it was already in "Lucas raped my childhood!" territory well before it was released.
TServo4		#172	[-]
Jan 14 09 3:46 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This is the same sort of mentality that spawns the underdog-siding argument about sequels, "well how can you judge it if you haven't seen it yet?" To which my reply is, "That's what you said the last time." What I really mean is, "Because I don't like the idea from the get-go, and even if I did, the staggering odds are that it'll suck. If Hollywood could make a good movie, they wouldn't be resorting to remakes." Remakes and rehashes are, by nature, unoriginal and often doomed to failure because the new version rarely lives up to the original. They're being made because of name value, not because they're something interesting or original." Same thing applies here. Fans aren't upset that a film about The Spirit was being made, it was that everyone saw Frank Miller's humor-less and excessively dark style coming from a mile away. It's about being appropriate to the source material, not masquerading behind a "loving tribute" and then turning out something that goes against the entire grain of what the original was about. Yes, The Spirit lacks just that-- the spirit of the original comic. No doubt the original could be dark, it could be punny, it could be sexist. But the Miller film isn't in the same ballpark-- it's not even in the same city. J. Theakston Capitol Theatre, Rome, NY
HalLane		#173	[-]
Jan 14 09 5:21 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	You guys can't talk me out of it -- I knew exactly what it would be going in, and liked it even more coming out. Hasten the DVD.
Andy Sheets		#174	[-]
Jan 14 09 6:26 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	TServo4 wrote: Fans aren't upset that a film about The Spirit was being made, it was that everyone saw Frank Miller's humor-less and excessively dark style coming from a mile away. But it's not humorless and excessively dark. It's actually got a lot of slapstick and camp comedy reminiscent of Looney Tunes cartoons and the Adam West Batman. The major problem is that Miller has no sense of comedic timing and he tries to come up with a misguided pseudo-scientific explanation for the cartooniness.
Wich2		#175	[-]
Jan 14 09 6:39 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	"comedy reminiscent of Looney Tunes cartoons and the Adam West Batman" Neither of which are much like Eisner's world. "Miller... tries to come up with a misguided pseudo-scientific explanation for the cartooniness" And THAT is strictly Bizarro world.
TServo4		#176	[-]
Jan 14 09 8:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	There are things that you might pass off as "jokes" in the film, but overall, it's quite humor-less in my opinion (without trying to be, of course). The problem isn't Miller's lack of comic timing, the problem is Miller's lack of any sense of humanity. And sorry, but I still maintain that the new film is ten times darker in style (perhaps cinematographically) than the comic book ever was in its inkiest days. This really isn't a criticism on my part, just a note. J. Theakston Capitol Theatre, Rome, NY
cjh5801		#177	[-]
Apr 19 09 5:19 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I finally caught this one on DVD last night. Not much to add to what's been said before. To be fair, it may be a halfway decent version of Frank Miller's THE SPIRIT, but I really wanted to see a movie about Will Eisner's THE SPIRIT. It turns out that I don't really care much about Miller's version of the character. - Clark hollowaypages.com
sirharryflashman		#178	[-]
Apr 20 09 6:07 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	cjh5801 wrote: I finally caught this one on DVD last night. Not much to add to what's been said before. To be fair, it may be a halfway decent version of Frank Miller's THE SPIRIT, but I really wanted to see a movie about Will Eisner's THE SPIRIT. It turns out that I don't really care much about Miller's version of the character. Nicely sums up my reaction to the film as well.... Cheers, Charles Prepolec Gaslight Grimoire Blog: News, Interviews and Updates Sherlock Holmes News: Sherlock Holmes in Films, Books and Media
chris schillig		#179	[-]
Apr 20 09 8:58 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I'm holding off for a few months, when I'm sure the film will be consigned to the $5 bin. Based on the many reviews I've read and comments posted here, it will be priced just right.
taraco	The Plan 9 of comic book movies	#180	[-]
Jun 15 09 3:30 PM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I finally saw THE SPIRIT on Blu-Ray last night, and was astounded at how awful it was, a clear candidate for being the Plan 9 of super hero movies. It finds its way about halfway in, sort of, but the first half, and especially the first 20 minutes, are just about unwatchable. The endless muck-fight between our hero and Samuel L. Jackson's Octopus villain resembles a bad WWE cage match. If it is supposed to be deadpan tongue in cheek, which I expect was the intent, it doesn't come off at all. You expect Tor Johnson to show up, and he almost does by the clumsy Commissioner Dolan poratryal and the idiotic "Pathos" characters. Compounding this misfire is the simple fact that it LOOKS great, almost as if BRIDE OF THE MONSTER was given the SIN CITY treatment. The music by David Newman is such an Elfman BATMAN ripoff that I almost thought they had lifted the soundtrack. The acting in one scene by Jackson and Scarlett Johansen as they walk back and forth spouting incomprehensible jibberish might be the worst scene I have ever seen in a modern film. I'm a big Frank Miller fan, and though I heard the reviews were awful and fan reaction was poor, I figured it was because he had taken Will Eisner's hero in some brutal, gritty direction. But that's not really the problem at all. Miller obviously was going for some ironic, four-color look and feel, similar to reading a Sunday SPIRIT installment, and indeed, in a few places there are fadeouts that have that episodic feel. But something went horribly wrong and it just sits there, awkward and ungainly, like "egg in the face,'' as the Octopus fears. The whole thing adds up to the worst comic book film ever. (Although on Wikipedia it says it has gained "cult'' status among some). Wow. david
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Frank Miller's THE SPIRIT