Review of The Spirit (1987) by Russ B — 23 May 2012

Don't try to figure this movie out, it is simply non-stop, stupid fun about an on-going battle of wits and will power between a superheroic character The Spirit (Gabriel Macht of "American Outlaws") who was once walked a beat as a cop and then died and comes back to life from the grave.

The convention in thriller movies that the villain makes the hero the hero that he is is true here. The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson of "Pulp Fiction") injects some mysterious serum into the hero that enables him to rise from the dead and raise hell against the hoodlums of the city.

Remember Frank Miller's "Sin City?" Well, "The Spirit" is basically "Sin City" with nothing but fun, unless you object to watching a cute kitten getting melted down to its eyeballs.

Eva Mendes of "Training Days" and a bevy of other babes show up in revealing costumes to taunt our hero and try to keep the villains in line. If you love to watch butt-kicking babes galore, "The Spirit" is your movie.

Jackson chews the scenery as an over-the-top bad guy who loves to tangle with his opponent The Spirit and their fights turn into wrestling matches. A couple of characters suffer real life deaths, but the hero and the villain cannot be killed.

They just keep on fighting, and fighting, and fighting. This R-rated movie has enough profanity for several films, but there are no intercourse scenes, mostly just cleavage. Frantically paced, unbelievable, eye candy that is loud, noisy, and exaggerated from fade-in to fade-out.

Have a blast with "The Spirit!".