E.Favata's Comic Book Movies

THE SPIRIT
Written for the Screen and Directed by: Frank Miller
Starring: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendez, Scarlet Johansson

The comic book mogul Frank Miller directs the visually riveting, emotionally gripping and fun extravaganza that is THE SPIRIT. I must put THE SPIRIT in caps every time I write it because it is a bold movie that deserves the bold statement. It is a roller-coaster of wild antics, emotional twists and damn good fun. I wish I had seen this in theaters.

Much like how Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 1 & 2 brought the comic book universe to our eyes in a classic way, Frank Miller's comic-book adaptation brings us a gritty and indie-esque universe. The experience of THE SPIRIT matches the experience of reading a comic book. There is never a dull moment, the story is always moving, and the visuals are always dynamic and exciting - plus the women are hotter than hell.

Every performance is alive and unique. Not one character feels forced or similar to another character. It is the women of this movie that truly make this film work. Each woman has their own desires, their own missions, and their own fetishes. Rather than hoping the male will get the girl, you hope the girl will get the guy - or someone more reliable. Sarah Paulson portrays Ellen, a doctor in love with the hero of our story. She is the voice of need, desire and hope. Scarlet Johansson, as Silken Floss, stands as the voice of intelligence - and the only person that knows what the hell is going on. Eva Mendez is the broken-heart of the story, called Sand Saref, and she glows. Paz Vega, the lovely housemaid from Spanglish, makes a short-lived but exotic entrance as a true threat to the Spirit.

Gabriel Macht as the title character, the Spirit, truly pulls off a lady's man who truly loves his city and wants to protect it. Samuel L. Jackson always rocks - but in this role he seems to truly be in his element as the nefarious Octopus, the Spirit's nemesis. Both actors compliment each other, and all of their female counterparts, with excellent suave and energy.

The only thing keeping this movie from a 10 out of 10 is that I didn't feel the ending was as powerful as it could have been. After all the seeds were set, the ending was a bit too-expected. But the emotional drama between the characters and the overall experience of the movie kept the it at a 9.

GO GET THE SPIRIT ON APRIL 14th!!!


Now I have to go start my homework, which is due in a few hours. The movie was just too good, though. I had to pass on the word.

really? you thought it was that good? wow. it's a good review don't get me wrong but for some reason i didn't think it was that great. decent movie but not amazing. but than again i never read the comics. did you read them and if so was it accurate?

I actually thought the movie was ok. It's not the best CBM ever but it's ok. Great review Sal, it really is like you say. The movie is like a campy version of Sin City. It's not that campy but it does have the same elements as the movie but with less killing. It kinda reminded me of the old Batman movies for some reason. All in all, I think that if you even enjoyed Sin City, you will enjoy this movie. If you even enjoy a very attractive woman, you will enjoy this movie.

Didn't read them. I haven't read comics for most CBMs. I don't like judging the movie experience based on how close they are to the material - it's just not fair to the hard work put into the movie. If a movie feels right and works, then I go with it.

I expected to feel the way you felt about The Spirit - especially since it didn't do much better than Punisher War Zone <- but c'mon, saying PWZ is good is like giving someone a pity-fuck. "I don't really like you... but I'll pretend for a little while."

But for some reason, this movie just rocked for me. It was like watching a fun student film. Everyone seemed so alive, and it was nice to see a movie that balanced the elements of taking itself seriously and not taking anything seriously. I also thought the guy who played the Spirit would've made a great Batman. He definitely had a better voice, no offense Christian Bale. I just had fun, and it was nice to just have fun for once in a movie. It was a movie with its own personality that wasn't pretentious or self-conscious or conscious of other CBMs.

I think many movies are going to come out that will be very pretentious and conscious of the success of The Dark Knight. Iron Man was a movie that was conscious of Batman Begins and tried to divert from that darkness in order to differentiate itself. Daredevil, Fantastic Four and Ghost Rider - if you break them down by plot and character - were bad Spider-Man remakes. Spider-Man 3 was a bad Spider-Man remake.

But The Spirit didn't seem have any concern for the rest of the CBMs. It was a true Saturday morning cartoon for me.

I wouldn't associate The Spirit with Sin City. The only thing bonding those two movies is the use of black and white with selected colors - and, of course, the completely CG backgrounds.

Sin City is a deliberately dark universe about oppression, violence, anger and tragedy. The Spirit, in the movie, is a rather light universe about mythology, love, authority and justice.

Watch Sin City and The Spirit side-by-side and you really have two distinct movies. The yellow guy in Sin City had this extremely oppressive yellow-tone for his skin. The only thing highlighted on Marv were the bandages covering his face, which emphasizes ideas of wounds, scars and pain. Each hero dies for their cause.

However, in The Spirit, the colors of red and gold stand out for the moments of love and anger - it's so much more emotionally specific than Sin City. The violence is also decidedely different. Sin City rips people to shreds, The Spirit breaks objects and uses cartoon noises.

And that's why I think that people shouldn't associate these two movies with each other. They are both unique experiences that deserve their own attention, and not judgement because of the experience of the other.

Well like I said, they are kinda the same, not in tone, but in other aspects. The dialogue, for one has the same feel as Sin City. I know that's because Frank wrote the script but most most people watching both movies in one day would find other similarities. All I'm saying is that if someone liked Sin City, they would like this movie. It's a bit more watered down and campy but it could pass for being in the same universe.

I really don't know if that makes sense or whatever but oh well.

Wow, you're really doubting your ability to articulate. What's got you all conflicted?

I dunno, I see them as separate beings altogether - but I get where you're coming from.

Wow, I have no idea why I put that last line up there. what I said in that last post was straight forward and to the point. I was a bit scatterbrained earlier today so I had no faith in my ideas at the time. I've regrouped and now understand what I'm trying to say.

Oh yeah, great review Sal.

Yeah, I noticed in a couple posts that you were questioning whether you made any sense - although you seemed clear enough. Glad you're back to your full senses.

And thanks!