Year: 2008
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action
Summary:
Here I go again into the realm of comic books. I don't know why I keep coming back to these (possibly because they're awesome). Help! There's a cry in the middle of the night. His city screams. Off goes the Spirit dawned in a Dick Tracy rip-off of an outfit (Ha!). The movie begins in the all too familiar fashion of "I have no idea what's going on". There's a beautiful woman, a gunshot, and a death. The Spirit is off to the scene of the crime. When he arrives, he is confronted with his arch-nemesis, the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson). In an INCREDIBLY strange fight, the two go at it biff-and-zoom style: punching and throwing objects at one another. Finally the police arrive and causes the Octopus to leave, giving the Spirit one final parting thought: maybe the Spirit and him were something different than everybody else. The Spirit quickly returns to the scene of the crime where a locket tips him off as to who the murderer might be: an old flame, Sand Saref. The next good portion of the movie is set in a flashback (all told to a cat, mind you) where the Spirit reveals his background. In an old film noir town, Central City, we see a boy (presumably the Spirit before he becomes what he is) and a young girl. The two are inseperable best friends. It's not soon before long when emotions set in. They connect and begin dating. All is well until a death in the family causes Sand to go evil. The pivitol point for her is when she tells a reporter that she hates cops. The two break up because of this and never see each other again. Through a long chain of events, we find that Sand returns to Central City to do dealings with the Octopus. The whole thing boils down to the Octopus' desire for eternal life and Sand's great greed and desire for shiny things. After learning more backstory, we find that the Spirit was actually brought back to life and is tied to the Octopus. Again, another film that I would hate to spoil the ending.
Plot:
The plot was on for me in this one. It had a lot of really strange humor, as well (Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johanson dressed as nazis?). I liked the way things fell into place, unfortunately (it always seems like there's a 'but' with me), it was too stereotypical superhero film for me. I have to give this one a 3/5.
Characters:
Flat is the word I can immediately think of. Too many characters that didn't change. In a way, the Spirit changed, but he went back to being a loose-cannon detective. Way too stereotypical. Sand Saref was the only one who really underwent true change. Sadly, 2/5.
Aesthetics:
So what's going to save this one is the art. By far one of the most beautiful films I've seen (I guess I'm a sucker for the black, white, and red). 5/5
Cast:
I generally have a biased for Samuel L. Jackson. He was spot-on in here. Eva Mendes (Sand Saref) was also amazing. She was tantilating and sexy. Very nicely done. 4/5
Grade: 70, C
Afterthoughts:
I actually really enjoyed this film, despite its subpar grade. The art was what did me in, though. It's a pretty movie, for sure. I'd recommend it for a casual date. Hell, I took my little brother to see it and he LOVED it.
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