Review of The Spirit (1987) by M J — 14 Jan 2013

I really wanted to like this movie, but the crazier Frank Miller becomes, the more I read about Will Eisner and his original "Spirit" comic strips, the more I come to see this film as a work of buffoonery.

Though, in defense of Miller, Eisner made it clear that no artist with permission to put their own spin on his original works was allowed to retell any previously published story. While Miller certainly had no experience in film-making, he knew better than to go against his mentor's wishes and duplicate the material word for word.

However, that did not excuse him from discarding much of what made the strips what they were. Everything from personality traits to the lovingly campy and satirical atmosphere that so defined "The Spirit" but Eisner himself.

It may identify as a separate entity, but Miller is far too oblivious to the fact that he was completely unprepared to tackle this project, and many of his attempts to personalize the comics come in the form of references to his own work that die-hard Miller fans will catch but leave others dumbfounded.

While it is obvious that Miller wanted to do a good job and capture the spirit of the classic comics, this film is really nothing more than a "Guilty, Guilty Pleasure" that should be approached with caution by many.