Frank Miller's The Spirit is quickly, not to mention hilariously, acquiring the reputation of the The Worst Movie of All Time™! Root around any self respecting movie news outlet and you'll find scores of earlybird reviews damning the piece for nebulous mis-steps such as: "Poor direction!" It's all quite a coup for Miller, who also currently writes The Worst Comic of All Time™! All Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder. He's the internet's Sultan of Shit 2008.
Sifting through the hate there does seem to be an agitatedly aggressive movement against Mr Miller, reading between the lines you detect a sincere whiff of class system pigeon holing: Miller's done comics so he has no business approaching motion pictures solo. Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino where his training wheels on Sin City; the former a micro budget jack of all trades, the latter a genuine cinema titan.
Isn't it a little churlish to suggest that Miller, who lets not forget put Batman back on the map with The Dark Knight Returns, is so dense he failed to pick up a trick or two from the duo? Miller's already an accomplished student, uniting such disparate image disciplines as caricature, Neal Adams bronze men, Jack Kirby big feet, and manga motion. Even if he's not your cup of tea, isn't it obvious he has pedigree?
Anyway, enough defending the millionaire Frank Miller. In all this crap kerfuffle, six or so scenes from Spirit have oozed there way online. Links below. Brief thoughts too. Share yours in the comments!
Hospital Scene. Tight little encounter between our hero and a lady whom I assume is the Chief of Police's daughter? Nice little broad strokes outline. Some decent back and forth flirt play-acting too. Easy to see Miller projecting here! He loves all the ladies!
Common Criminal. A touch flat - especially Eva Mendes' gun pull sweep. It's a similar sort of soundstage floundering that Sin City suffered from in a few scenes.
Alley Fight. A goody. Unites some pat RoboCop invincible justice deadpanning with a throw away scene from DKR, in which Batman breaks and punishes a potential rapist. Silhouettes are never quite as bold as pen and paper, but it they ain't slobby.
Killing Baldies. Lethal justice with a touch of Tex Avery. I never tire of Miller's war poetry monologues either.
Eye Candy. Skit scene. Scarlett Johannson and Eva Mendes zing argue there way around dull plot machinations.
The Spirit versus The Octopus. More Tex. Pile on those absurdities! Had this scene featured splatter fountain Verhoeven grue I'm sure people would be struggling to get their pants off.
Judging from these scenes, The Spirit's greatest crime is sidelining cruel cool for something a little more daft. Crime of the century! Oh well. Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy eventually found its audience.
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