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My City Overacts!!!
Jan. 3rd, 2009 08:34 amSaw THE SPIRIT yesterday. It's...different.
If you are a fan of the original comics, you'll recognize little of this. Calling it SIN CITY 1.5 is only somewhat unfair, as the setting is not as deeply corrupt as Basin City, but the cinematography, use of spot color, and heavy noir atmosphere matches well. There are some elements that look like they were pulled right out of the prior film.
The story is a fairly thin "hero vs. Villain" plot, with extended flashbacks to Denny Colt's childood. But it serves to tie the film together. The characters are more problematic. There is a tendency towards repitition in dialoge (reaching it's crescendo in the disposable clone minions) that grates after a while, and there are several scenes where the actors declaim their dialogue with less naturalness than a primary school Christmas pageant.
And then there's Samuel L. Jackson, who chews scenery with all the relish of a starving man at an all-you-can eat buffet. His Octopus is a flamboyant, psychotic megalomanic with an egg phobia and a flair for the dramatic, and he pretty much steals the show. Unfortunately, as the one character who is drastically different from the Eisner take (in the original, the character is only ever seen as a pair of gloved hands) his antics, especially in the Nazi Dentist scene, skews the whole film.
THE SPIRIT is not a good film. But it is a FUN film. My friend and I agree that it's destined to become a cult classic, probably with it's own drinking game ("drink if he mentions eggs!").
And remember: "This one's for Muffin!"
If you are a fan of the original comics, you'll recognize little of this. Calling it SIN CITY 1.5 is only somewhat unfair, as the setting is not as deeply corrupt as Basin City, but the cinematography, use of spot color, and heavy noir atmosphere matches well. There are some elements that look like they were pulled right out of the prior film.
The story is a fairly thin "hero vs. Villain" plot, with extended flashbacks to Denny Colt's childood. But it serves to tie the film together. The characters are more problematic. There is a tendency towards repitition in dialoge (reaching it's crescendo in the disposable clone minions) that grates after a while, and there are several scenes where the actors declaim their dialogue with less naturalness than a primary school Christmas pageant.
And then there's Samuel L. Jackson, who chews scenery with all the relish of a starving man at an all-you-can eat buffet. His Octopus is a flamboyant, psychotic megalomanic with an egg phobia and a flair for the dramatic, and he pretty much steals the show. Unfortunately, as the one character who is drastically different from the Eisner take (in the original, the character is only ever seen as a pair of gloved hands) his antics, especially in the Nazi Dentist scene, skews the whole film.
THE SPIRIT is not a good film. But it is a FUN film. My friend and I agree that it's destined to become a cult classic, probably with it's own drinking game ("drink if he mentions eggs!").
And remember: "This one's for Muffin!"
