The Spirit: Not quite Batman, not quite Sin City, but all cheese…

A lot of cheese, and a lot of fun!

I think I enjoyed The Spirit for all the wrong reasons. I have never read the comic books, so I didn’t have to worry about being horrified at how they were translated to screen, which is a complaint I’m reading from hard core fans. What I got out of this movie, however, was a long giggle fest, and my full daily allowance of quality cheese.

Right off the bat you know this is going to be a little awkward. We get a long soliloquy from The Spirit, played by Gabriel Macht, as he leaps across rooftops. He’s going on and on about how he loves the city and the city loves him, to the point where you wonder how long it’s been since The Spirit has been with a real girl. It’s so over the top, I started picturing another comic book hero, translated to small screen, The Tick, in his place, and didn’t feel I was very far off in my comparison.

Then there’s a long, drawn out fight scene between the bad guy, The Octopus, played by Samuel L. Jackson, and The Spirit. Silken Floss, The Octopus’ accomplice, announces that they’ll be there all night, so everyone may as well leave. The fight just keeps going, the banter gets ridiculous, and someone ends up with a toilet smashed over them. I think we may have a tone set here, folks, but it works for me!

The jist is Denny Colt was a good cop shot down in his prime, but miraculously rises from the grave to become The Spirit. He then hides his true identity, including from his former loves, the bad girl Sand Saref whom he loved from childhood until a terrible accident tore them apart (plus her lust for sparkly things), and the goody goody gum drops doctor he dated right before he died, Ellen Dolan. You know Ellen is the ‘real’ thing just because her name is normal. The Octopus has the same amazing healing abilities, but is going for true immortality, and doesn’t care if he destroys the city in the process of obtaining a vase with the blood of Hercules to get it.

The storyline is interesting, and doesn’t drag. This, however, is only because this is so over-the-top, comic-book-brought-to-life that you’re giggling too much to get bored. Some of the monologues are just plain weird, but it all fits the feel of the film. The characters are mostly ridiculous, overblown stereotypes, but there is some depth when it’s needed. Is Sand Saref a villain, or just a girl who likes her jewelry too much? The Spirit has become a notorious womanizer, who loves cats and his city, but does he ultimately love Ellen Dolan? And does Ellen Dolan really not recognize her dead boyfriend as she tends to The Spirit’s wounds?

Then there’s characters like Silken Floss, played to the hilt by Scarlett Johansson. She’s beautiful, brilliant, and just having fun being the right hand of the bad guy. Plus her line of “I have a lucrative business, and I’m great eye candy!” really sums up the movie. The film is glossy, very reminiscent of Sin City, but be careful you don’t look too close. There’s not a lot of substance holding this up, and it will shatter under any scrutiny or criticism.

Over the top characters, slick backdrops, funky black and white with red thrown in details, and lots of cheesy dialogue add up to a good movie for The Queen Of Cheese. It’s not great, and not worth running out to own a copy unless it’s on a super sale, but it is definitely worth sitting down with a big bowl of popcorn and no distractions so you can catch all the cheesy goodness!

Tags: action flick, action movie, Eric Balfour, Eva Mendes, Frank Miller, Gabriel Macht, giggle factor, Jaime King, Samuel L Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Scarlett Johansson, The Spirit, The Tick