Eva Mendes is the new Raquel Welch but even Raquel/Eva can't make this movie work
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01/06/09
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The Spirit (2008)
14 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 97
Fresh: 14
Rotten:83
Average Rating: 3.5/10
Consensus: Though its visuals are unique, The Spirit's plot is almost incomprehensible, the dialogue is ludicrously mannered, and the characters are unmemorable.
Theatrical Release: Dec 25, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $17,743,738
Synopsis: Adapted from the legendary comic strip, THE SPIRIT is a classic action-adventure-romance told by genre-twister FRANK MILLER (creator of 300 and SIN CITY). It is the story of a former rookie cop... [More]
Starring: Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Gabriel Macht
Director: Frank Miller
Reviews for The Spirit
Now that they've gone and made Batman all serious and good, the campy comics hero movie mantle has been taken up by The Spirit.
01/05/09
In their first battle, The Octopus smashes a toilet over The Spirit's head, laughs maniacally, and declares, "Toilets are always funny!" This movie would know: It clearly deserves to be flushed down one.
01/05/09
Displaying admirable love for pulp material and striking enviably sexy poses, but missing the emotional resonance, zeitgeist-catching populism and mainstream thrills which found movie franchises.
01/05/09
Every once in a while a genuine turkey escapes the coop, bereft of charm or wit, utterly lacking in technical prowess, integrity or intelligence. ‘The Spirit’ is such a film.
01/05/09
Miller shoots it in the inky graphic style of Sin City, but he clearly hasn't a clue how to stage a scene, or shoot it, and he singly fails to animate his actors.
01/05/09
Frank Miller's adaptation of the antique comic strip by Will Eisner is brash, noisy and so alarmingly ill-paced that it should, by rights, come with a software package that allows viewers to recut it as they see fit.
01/05/09
The Spirit’s greatest crime is that it is so boring – encapsulated in a scene where the Spirit and the Octopus slug it out for an eternity as both are sucked into treacly mud.
01/05/09
Miller's adaptation certainly looks impressive and the female characters are all drop-dead gorgeous in a Sin City way, but the script and story are all over the place and it never really comes together.
01/05/09
[There is] no consistency or rhythm to its visual tangents, which splotch about frantically, desperately, like diarrhea spraying about the outside of its porcelain target.
01/04/09
A movie trailer can give unintended clues as to what to expect - The Spirit's (see it on YouTube if you missed it) is one long piece of chaos. And so is the pic.
01/02/09
This screen adaptation of Will Eisner's beloved comic books is intriguing enough to be watchable, but is so chaotic that it doesn't work at all
01/01/09
It's not just that it's obvious from the train wreck onscreen that Miller hasn't ever truly directed a movie before; it's hard to tell if he's ever even seen a movie before.
12/31/08
It makes sport of both comic books and hard-boiled detective fiction, yet it does so by utilizing and adhering to the conventions of each.
12/31/08
First, Robert Rodriguez tried to make a Frank Miller movie. Now, Frank Miller is trying to make a Frank Miller movie. (Advantage: Rodriguez.)
12/30/08
What is most striking about The Spirit is how little pleasure it affords, in spite of its efforts to by sly, sexy, heartfelt and clever all at once.
12/29/08
Top Critic Is it campy? Or is it cool? Is it stylized? Or is it corny and cheesy? It doesn’t really know.
12/29/08
Latest News for The Spirit
January 04, 2009:
TeenDirectory.net: Erotic sleuthing laced with backwards babes, and Paulson on female doormat duty while Scarlett's shrewdie hangs with a murderous gang of homicidal fattie clones, like an underworld Madonna bossing an obedient crew of paunchy boy toys. 
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December 29, 2008:
Visually spectacular adaptation of Will Eisner's legendary comics creation is all Frank Miller and very little Eisner. Part crime thriller, part superhero origin story, it opts for bombastic weirdness rather than the comic's trademark humanism.
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December 28, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Marley Takes #1, The Spirit Tanks
This weekend people were in the mood for movies over Christmas weekend as multiplexes were jam-packed with customers that powered four different new releases to more than $30M... More...
December 24, 2008:
In this erotic manic sleuthing laced with backwards babes, Paulson does female doormat duty while Scarlett's shrewdie hangs with a murderous gang of homicidal fattie clones, like an underworld Madonna bossing an obedient crew of paunchy boy toys.
More...
Related Forums for The Spirit
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by: Arthur G. 12/1/08
by: Arthur G. 12/1/08
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