The Spirit...

[supervike]

So, I'm a bit behind the times.  I've got a few old Will Eisner Spirit books, mostly because I love the art style, and remember when this film hit the theaters.

It's relatively short run, and bad reviews have made me steer clear of it, but I finally succombed and watched the film last week.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.  I expected a terrible mess of a film, and found that it was enjoyable.

Sure, it was corny at times, the diaglog cringeworthy, but I liked the look of it, the characters were fun, and it was filled with 'my style' of pulpy goodness.  While not capturing the spirit (AHEM) exactly of the comic, it still had some very enjoyable scenes. 

Has my movie judgement been so far skewed by viewing b-cinema that I can no longer accurately judge a good movie from a bad?

Well, I like it, with no apologies.  Anybody else with me?

[LeadAsbestos]

So, bad reviews, a terrible mess of a film, corny, cringeworthy, not capturing the spirit of the comic, b-cinema, bad?

 Anybody else with me?

Couldn't agree more!

[Dr.Falkenhayn]

Has my movie judgement been so far skewed by viewing b-cinema that I can no longer accurately judge a good movie from a bad?

thats what i asked myself after watching Resident Evil Afterlife,was not that bad,but iam pretty unsure too  

The Spirit has a nice Pulp Flair,no Doubt only the Story is a bit boring...

[Remington]

The Spirit was one of the few films I never managed to watch all the way through. And my tolerance level is quite high. At some point - it might have been when they started chucking sinks at each other and the dialogue became absolutely ridiculous - I just decided to have a look at the Eva Mendes scenes and turn it off! 

Sigh... Eva Mendes....   

[supervike]

Couldn't agree more!

LOL...with your quoting ability, one might think you work for the media....

[matakishi]

I managed 20 minutes.
Utter shit
The Eisner/Miller interviews showed Miller had no idea about the Spirit or Eisner, the film proved it. Miller writes/makes crap films, this was his crappest.
I have the pilot for the 80s tv show, it wasn't great but it was way better than this.

I could go on but I find it embarrassing to be this pissed off about a film.

[P_Clapham]

I never saw it, doubt I will.  My mentor Chris Couch at UMass Amherst worked closely with Will. I became acquainted with him through his course on Eisner and the Spirit.  Through that class I picked up a deep appreciation for Eisner, in the complex themes and issues he tackled in his comics.  The Spirit lead to me picking up A Contract With God, the Plot and few others.  All very mature and thought provoking graphic novels.

After seeing the previews and Samuel Jackson as the Octopus, well kind of killed any if all interest in the movie.  This was brought up more than once in the class, Miller is kind of a dick.  He's very talented, and I loved Sin City and 300.  When it comes to other people's intellectual properties he's pretty nasty.  Some folks will like the movie, which is fine.  I've got stuff I enjoy, that other folks would take an issue with.  However after eating, drinking and breathing Will Eisner for a full semester, I can't bring myself to watch the movie.

[magokiron]

Hi supervike.

It's ok if you liked the movie, but I guess you haven't read the ORIGINAL COMIC.

Will eisner's THE SPIRIT is one of the fundations of the graphic narrative, and has some of the VERY BEST plots and "camera shots" of all the industry, and several of Eisner techniques used with THE SPIRIT are unsurpassed to this days.

The movie didn't reflect anything of Eisner's greatness, changed the basic structure of the characters and the way they relate to each other, and managed to bury one of the most iconic and beloved (at least to us old chaps) charactes of comic's history.

What a shame.

Pretty much ANY other director may have made a better job, if only after reading 2 or 3 THE SPIRIT comics. And note that each one is only EIGHT PAGES LONG.

But then, that's just my opinion.

Best wishes.

[Tars Tarkas]

Never read the comic but I thought the film was entertaining and all the ladies were extremely watchable!

[LeadAsbestos]

If the chicks are the primary measure, and the film secondary, I'd go w/ Catherine Zeta-Jones in The Phantom!
The movie is pretty good too!

[Tars Tarkas]

Yes, I am with you 100% on the Phantom and CZJ!   (The female lead was pretty tepid by comparison.)

[undead_jon]

Being a fan of the TV show Castle I decided to watch it when I found out Stana Katic was in it.

I didn't think it was that bad, though someone should have told Mr Jackson to turn it down a bit.  Personally I like the flashback stuff the best and thought Sarah Paulson and Stana were the best things in it (again, slightly bias, I've been a fan of Sarah Paulson's since American Gothic).

All in all not great, but not as bad as I'd expected.

J

[n815e]

No egg on my face.  Not a glob.

Such an awful movie, it would have been fantastic if they just put in the Eva Mendes scenes, no dialoge and left it at that.

[white knight]

I'm going to shock people, but Eva Mendez doesn't do it for me in movies. If anything, she's an added annoyance.

[LeadAsbestos]

I'm going to shock people, but Eva Mendez doesn't do it for me in movies. If anything, she's an added annoyance.

Agreed! In real life, if she was asking if she could take a shower at my place...

But as a movie bombshell, no.
 Even Scarlett couldn't make me watch that stinker of a movie again...