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33 COMMENTS

  1. Wow. That one hits the notes a lot better than the other previews let on. Nothing against Samuel Jackson, but I still wish they’d taken the risk of not showing The Octopus’ face and let him be a real mystery man. That would’ve made such an interesting dichotomy of this ghost-like hero and this unseen adversary who sounds familiar but we never see his face. Remember: it was the way Ridley Scott didn’t show the creature in “Alien” which made it seem even more frightening.

    That logo is odd too. It doesn’t match the branding of the Spirit so someone might not get that this movie is about Will Eisner’s character. Ah well, Maybe when Brad Bird and Pixar do their version in 20 years’ time… ;)

  7. I think this will be the film that finally deflates Frank’s huge ego. Why is Frank always wearing that fedora, as if he’s wearing some sort of costume?

    This movie reminds me of Speed Racer. ugh!!! After this, I feel, Frank will come crawling back to comics. Why even include Will Eisner’s name on this crap. Please, you can’t honestly believe that Will would approve of this. Is this the Sin City 2 trailer? Why is this thing such a mess? I remember it being said that, using narrative voiceover is usually a crutch to bad storytelling. I think even Sam Jackson has to be embarrassed by this movie. This is some cheezy looking “c” grade movie.

  8. I think this will be the film that finally deflates Frank’s huge ego. Why is Frank always wearing that fedora, as if he’s wearing some sort of costume?

    This movie reminds me of Speed Racer. ugh!!! After this, I feel, Frank will come crawling back to comics. Why even include Will Eisner’s name on this crap. Please, you can’t honestly believe that Will would approve of this. Is this the Sin City 2 trailer? Why is this thing such a mess? I remember it being said that, using narrative voiceover is usually a crutch to bad storytelling. I think even Sam Jackson has to be embarrassed by this movie. This is some cheezy looking “c” grade movie.

  9. This is doing nothing for me at all. Sin City really set a sense of style to it that this one just seems to copy to close. Ugh.

    Don’t throw Speed Racer in with this Frank Miller stuff. Speed was a great film while this will flop. There are a few really good films out right now that aren’t doing anything when they rightly deserve to due to the economy or word of mouth.

  10. I think if I saw these trailers with no knowledge of the source material, I’d think it would look really great. I loved Sin City, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, and the like, and think this will fit into that genre of pulp crime film well. However, since I DO know Will Eisner’s work, I can’t watch these clips without comparing them. What I’ve seen certainly has a striking visual style, but overall it just doesn’t have the “flavor” of Eisner’s comics. I’m not the type who expects his comics-to-film adaptations to slavishly follow the original, but I do like having the basic sensibilities preserved.

    And that voice! For all that people complained about Christian Bale’s Batman voice, I think it’s doubly worse for this character.

  11. I think this looks fun — potentially not good, potentially entertaining. Who knows? I can’t imagine any universe in which a version faithful to the comic would be shot by the Coen Brothers starring Paul Gross or whomever. Being sad about the Spirit compared to the fantasy Spirit movie in my head is like being sad that Stephen Chow won’t be directing me in a $200 million Reid Fleming movie.

    It’s also hilarious how so many comics fans assume ownership over these characters that they like and then turn around and castigate the creators for having similar, infinitely more justified feelings of ownership over such characters.

    Dear God, please let me live the rest of my life so I get to the point where my Christmas movie potentially opening not great is to be perceived to be my severe comeuppance.

  14. I humbly grant lionsgate the following blurb free for use in their add campaign.

    “awesomely retarded”- some internet nerd.

  16. Again. I’m torn. I’m more of a Miller fan than an Eisner fan. This feels so much like Miller and not what (little) I know of the Spirit and Eisner. Of course Miller is a disciple of Eisner, but he has his own style. I really want to see Miller’s film. Yet it bothers me that this is THE Spirit film and it doesn’t look like what Eisner drew. When you change the color of the main character and prominently show the character Eisner never did.. Isn’t this the same sort of tinkering Frank complained that Hollywood did? I need to reread that chapter in that Eisner / Miller interview book.

  19. I’m willing to keep an open mind until I see the film, though I must admit I haven’t been optimistic.

    I do think Sarah Paulson was a great bit of casting for Ellen Dolan, but she seems mismatched with the actor cast in the lead role. I’ve always thought Jon Hamm from the television show Mad Men would have been a perfect Denny Colt/Spirit–he’s got an all-American William Holden thing going for him that would have been perfect for the role.

  20. Hey, that guy who plays Comissioner Dolan – he used to be the dad on the Wonder Years.

    In other news I heard this morning that Scarlett Johannson got married over the weekend.

    That totally sucks ass.

    ~

    Coat

  21. “Being sad about the Spirit compared to the fantasy Spirit movie in my head is like being sad that Stephen Chow won’t be directing me in a $200 million Reid Fleming movie.”

    But Tom, I am sad about that as well.

  22. It’s gonna be big. Octopus big.

    You know as big as um… an octopus.

    It looks like Sky Captain meets… well not The Spirit.

    Hey how about that Watchmen trailer? That looks like it’ll be good. Yay Watchmen!

  23. “somebody get me a tie! and it better be rrrrrr–red!”

    “here’s a tie!”

    “goddamnit! This is blue!”

    “wait, no, i’ve got another one.”

    “no! jesus, that’s a scarf. are you fucking drunk or something? i said tie!”

    “no, it can work for both. it’s a–what do you call those? with an A.”

    “I’m not wearing a goddamn ascot! jesus, you’re a real assclown.”

  24. This movie seems like it might suffer the same fate as The Shadow. I remember when the preview came out and people all around me in the theater said “who’s the shadow?” “whats his power again?” “Is’nt that batmans dad?”

    While I’m sure it will be a better movie than the shadow(not hard to do), are contemporary movie goers even remotely familiar with The Spirit? Even Speed Racer was fading from the majority of public memory, but at least it had the benifit of having the original cartoons aired within the last decade.

    Does anyone think that there will be some marketing attempt to familiarize audiences with the character?

    Also, I think im starting to get Samuel Jackson fatigue.

  25. If those helicopters don’t end up in a dogfight with a heavily armed Gerhard Schnobble, I’m gonna ask for my money back.

  26. “And then there’s the Spirit creator, the legendary Will Eisner (for whom the comic book industry’s academy awards, The Eisners, are named after). Uslan explained, “Will is our Idol – our godfather- and we want him to be involved in anything and everything he wants to be. We will go to him with questions We will lay out our plans about what we’re thinking of doing. We will want to know if he thinks each detail is right on track. Unlike many comic book creators who have been ignored by the studios or filmmakers in years past, if anything, we may be accused of pestering the heck out of Will as we begin our work. I’m sure any writer or director will want to sit at length with him and welcome his insight. Will said ,”Don’t limit yourself to what I did in 1940 or 1950. Make it relevant for today and for the needs of movie going audiences of today. These are things you need to do and you shouldn’t be tied to something because it was in the 11th issue.” But we will not let our muscles twitch without checking in with him – we want him to be as much a part of this whole process as possible.”

    Michael Uslan–producer on The Spirit, 2004

    Who’s to say this take on The Spirit wasn’t already discussed in detail or in at least general terms including Will Eisner’s endorsement of a list of directors which may have included Frank Miller with whom he had somewhat of an association as evidenced by that huge book where they talk to each other.

    I think it looks too much like Sin City, but it could still be a good film. I wish Frank Miller had branched out from what he learned during the making of Sin City, though. It still looks cool enough to watch, and if people go see it, maybe someone will get around to making a faithful animated version… producers love money, and basically making the same thing twice is doubly joyous for them.

  27. About the moment it hinted that he had a healing factor I had to look away. And it looked terrible the instant a real person walked in. What I find interesting is that the very beginning suggests it would have been far better as an actual animated film, even if in Miller’s own SIN CITY style.

    But no, I hate the overworked way this and 300 look. In SIN CITY the novellty took the edge off, but at this point it just puts me off. This is why I look at WATCHMEN with careful dread, especially when I see the shots of Ozymandias in costume. V FOR VENDETTA, on the other hand, had a great style, but it was mostly Lloyd’s, and David Lloyd could beat Miller for dark urban noir every time.

  28. About the moment it hinted that he had a healing factor I had to look away. And it looked terrible the instant a real person walked in. What I find interesting is that the very beginning suggests it would have been far better as an actual animated film, even if in Miller’s own SIN CITY style.

    But no, I hate the overworked way this and 300 look. In SIN CITY the novellty took the edge off, but at this point it just puts me off. This is why I look at WATCHMEN with careful dread, especially when I see the shots of Ozymandias in costume. V FOR VENDETTA, on the other hand, had a great style, but it was mostly Lloyd’s, and David Lloyd could beat Miller for dark urban noir every time.

  29. I suspect my ticket money would not be wasted. It won’t be Eisner’s THE SPIRIT, but hell, you already have a bookshelf full of those.

    And SPEED RACER will be worshipped twenty years down the line.

  30. Seriously, why is it so campy?

    The man who wrote the story that finally enabled Batman to be taken seriously but then turns around and uses camp elements of the old 60s Batman show in his directorial debut is ironic at best.

  31. I think I’m going to have to see it to pass judgement. The trailer left me neither here nor there. I would have preferred more color in the actual film as well (those oranges and yellows on the last promo poster were DELISH), but as it is, it feels a little too close to Sin City to stand on its own stylistically. As for the writing and story . . . we’ll see. :)

  32. Miller SHOULD NOT use the name ‘the Spirit’ for a Sin City movie.
    If he is not going to be loyal to what the Spirit is all about how even use the name to begin with?

    He is just not the right person to direct a Spirit movie, it is not his style, his sensibility and that is what we get out of a ‘frank milllr sin city movie’. All the girls are sluts, the hero a brainless tough guy and the villain effeminated ( because in Frank Miller stories the villain is ALWAYS effeminated ).

    Makes one wonder he has capacity of making any story different of this general formula these days…

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