Review of The Spirit (1987) by Heather M — 25 Aug 2014

This movie tried to copy the overall style and atmosphere of Sin City, but it fails so hard and so many levels that it winds up being just blatantly ridiculous. The film's story is hard to take seriously, especially with such ridiculously out-of-place concepts like The Golden Fleece and the Blood of Heracles, but what really hampers the story is the unlikable lead character, who won't stop spouting all those pretentious metaphors he uses to describe his city.

Speaking of the characters, the acting is so terrible that it makes me wonder how much of an effort the actors even made. I suppose that's what happens when most of the cast comprises of no-name actors, and not even the only two big-name actors (Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L.

Jackson) do anything to make it better. Instead, I find Samuel L. Jackson spouting the cheesiest lines he's ever been paid to make, and that's still nothing compared to all the other cheesy lines.

The action scenes are badly choreographed, to the point that some of the shooting is filmed from ridiculous angles, almost in a pathetic attempt to hide how much of a bad job they did. The worst part about this movie is the style.

They tried to imitate Sin City's gritty style, but they did such a half-assed job at it that ended up not only making it look worse, but they also made it look and sound much campier. Say what you will about Batman & Robin, but let me tell you, the people who made Batman and Robin are probably looking at this and laughing.

The Spirit is basically a terrible comic book movie, and with no redeeming qualities, it's the worst in that category.