The Spirit

05.11.2009

Film Trailer

The Spirit is the hero who protects Central City against the evil Octopus. The movie tries to be "crazy" and cool, but the result isn't a good one. This is a weak movie that isn't suitable for children.

Plot
The Spirit is a tough superhero who loves his city, Central City. His real name is actually Denny Colt, and he worked several years in the police force before being shot and killed. But Denny returns from the dead, now almost invincible, and commences the battle against the criminals in Central City. His nemesis is The Octopus, a crazy doctor willing to eradicate his city in his bid to become immortal.

To reach his goal, Octopus runs genetic experiments, which lead to several unsuccessful results. His gang consists, for example, of a band of cloned, brain-dead muscle men. But Octopus has a plan. He's discovered that if he drinks from a vase containing the blood of Heracles, the greatest hero from Greek Mythology, he will live forever.

But, of course, there are complications. The box containing the vase gets switched with another box, which a female master-thief, Sand Saref, is looking for. This box contains Jason's golden skin, also from Greek Mythology. The situation is further complicated when it turns out that Sand is The Spirit's childhood sweetheart.

And so ensues an inevitable battle between the three, and in the end The Spirit and Sand must join forces to prevent Octopus becoming immortal.

Quality and Theme
"The Spirit" is based on the prize-winning comic strip made by the legendary cartoonist Will Eisner. Unfortunately the movie is nowhere near the quality of the series it is based on. The filmmakers have done a good job of recreating the sombre noir feeling, but the story is unfocused, messy and at times outright silly. This is especially true of the scenes with Octopus. Through the movie we meet him in different settings - once he's a crazy scientist, another time a torturer dressed in a Nazi uniform. The idea is probably that this is supposed to be strange and funny, but the scenes seem like spontaneous whims or skits with no logical connection between them, and none of them are especially good either.

Suitability
The movie doesn't convey a message or moral which can be useful to the viewer. A dark mood characterizes the movie, and there are a lot of violent scenes. This reviewer thinks this movie should have had a 15-year age limit. The movie isn't recommended for children under twelve.

Conclusion
Our advice is to see another movie entirely rather than this one.

Facts
Director: Frank Miller Genre: Action/Adventure Actors: Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes and more Language: English Nationality: USA Production Company: Lionsgate/Oddlot Entertainment Length: 1 hour 43 mins Production Year: 2008 Age Limit: 12A Suitability: Young people BBFC's Consumer Advice: Contains moderate violence