Why do critics hate this movie? Presently, it has a rating of only 14% on Rottentomatoes, a job dropping figure for one of the year’s best films. What gives?
Well, the consensus rating says it all: “Though its visuals are unique, The Spirit's plot is almost incomprehensible, the dialogue is ludicrously mannered, and the characters are unmemorable.” I suppose that is true if you were expecting a straightforward action adventure movie, a la Iron Man. The movie is probably mostly a failure when it comes to the standard stuff of these types of pictures: the action sequences aren’t very exciting and there is little suspense in the tradition sense.
But so what? The Dark Knight was not a success due to its action sequences, but due to the drama- we got involved in the characters and cared what happened to them. Indeed, the fact that The Spirit is based on a famous comic strip (by Will Eisner) might work against it in terms of audience expectations. It’s more like Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy than all of the X-Men films and there ilk.
Like Beatty’s film, the movie is all style. The “ludicrously mannered” dialogue is intentionally so, the characters are archetypes, the plot is essentially irrelevant. I doubt that anyone over the age of nine or ten is going to care whether Doctor Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) is going to drink the Blood of Hercules and take over the world, or are going to have any real doubt about whether or not he’s going to succeed.
The point is not the story, it’s about how the movie looks and feels, which is wicked cool. In a way, this is the movie that Sin City wanted to be, though this one has a heart and real sense of fun. The art direction and cinematography, which are mixes of real sets and props and CGI constructions create a look that fun to watch throughout the whole film. It is pleasurably startling, to see real people standing in drawn settings. Yes, I know that this is not the first film to use this technique, but it looks the best.
The picture is perfectly cast, and the actors all do a great job in their archetypal roles, which is not easy to do. Gabriel Macht is sensational as The Spirit, holding the picture with flair while wearing a mask throughout the entire film, something that is no easy to do. Jackson gives the funniest performance of his career as Octopus, playing every scene to the hilt. Scarlet Johansson gives her best performance as his sidekick, Silken Floss, showing a degree of skill with light comedy that she has not displayed previously. Finally, Eva Mendes manages to bring a level of pathos (no pun intended) as Sand Saref, a jewelry thief with a past of shattered innocence. Did I get across the idea that I love the characters in this movie?
So should you see The Spirit? Having never read the comic strip, I cannot comment on its faithfulness, but this does not seem like the kind of movie that fan boys would typically enjoy. It’s too visually sophisticated and uninterested in ticking off the mandatory clichés, except to have fun with them. If you are a movie fan however, you might be interested in hearing some of the funniest dialogue and joyfully stylized performances of the year. And certainly, it looks better than any film I’ve seen in a long time.