Earlier this summer, I posted an article about news coming from the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con and one of the biggest stories was how awful the panel for Frank Miller's The Spirit was. The footage shown looked really bad and the tone was all over the place. Mostly, it was supposed to be unintentionally and painfully funny. Still, deep down, I hoped that all of this was just a fluke and that Miller still had a decent movie waiting for us come this Christmas. After all, the teaser trailer for the movie was pretty awesome.
Well, early reviews have been hitting the web and they are all bad. Really bad. Like bad to the point that this is being compared to Battlefield Earth.
AICN says: “I’ve seen something that has taken the top prize from “Battlefield Earth.” … “Okay, Mr. Miller. Let’s get it on.” … “Seriously, it’s not. You clearly don’t have any idea what you’re doing. Someone, ANYONE, over at Lionsgate should have known this. F*ck, it’s their JOB to know this. But they didn’t.” … “Folks, this movie is that bad. I heartily recommend it if you have a strong stomach and an even stronger sense of Bad-Movie-Love. Otherwise, steer clear.”
Variety says: “Frank Miller’s solo writing-directing debut plunges into a watery grave early on and spends roughly the next 100 minutes gasping for air. Pushing well past the point of self-parody” … “There’s a lot going on here, but none of it sticks — not the shopworn plotting nor the arch, stilted dialogue. The actors often seem to be delivering their lines in ironic quote marks, suggesting a straight-faced sendup of noir and comicbook conventions that, whatever the intended effect, falls mostly flat.”
The Hollywood Reporter says: “Truly a mess. Fans of Sin City and 300 will populate theaters for the film’s opening, but box office will fall quickly. The film’s campiness might then pull in a different sort of aficionados — those who celebrate films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show for their silly acting and overripe dialogue.”
Unique Geek says: “The Spirit starts off crazy when we expect serious, then tries to pull it back in, then goes for weird juvenile sight gags then tries to be tough, and we’re disoriented. Theres also a pathlogical fascination with a prop photocopy of Mendes’ rump. If you took a shot every time the camera cuts to it, you would be wasted by the third act, and maybe “wasted” is the right word to end with here. There’s a lot of work and opportunity that went by the wayside here, a lot of talented people and some great source material that never quite gels. The parts that look good, look good, but maybe next time, they’ll hire a fox to put it all together.”
So yeah, this movie is supposed to be God awful. This is a shame, it really is. Deep down, I really wanted it all to work out for Miller. However, I cannot say this is a total surprise. Everything that Miller has been working on as of late has definitely been lacking in his usual quality. I think 9/11 really messed the guy up. He was in New York working on Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again (the long awaited sequel to his groundbreaking Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) when the attacks occurred. The incident made him drastically change the last half of this series into an incredibly angry and pessimistic revenge fantasy. I have not read this book but I've heard its pretty terrible, mostly due to the drastic change at the end in which heroes basically start to kill people.
Most recently, Miller wrote the story for DC's All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder. Although the book has been praised for Jim Lee's gorgeous artwork, Miller's story and take on Batman has been ripped apart by critics and fans. I've read this book and I definitely had problems with most of it, though I must admit that I began to warm up to it towards the end (that scene with Batman, Robin and the Green Lantern at the very end was classic). Still, Miller presents Batman as a Dirty Harry-like character who has complete disregard to the health of anyone around him, enjoys breaking the limbs and causing physical pain to criminals and who, in one scene, leaves Robin in the Batcave with nothing to eat except for rats. The portrayal is just too extreme and sadistic. He basically just turned Batman into an angry a-hole. However, the biggest controversy to come out of this series was the line you can see in the picture above: "I'm the Goddamn Batman!" Most people tend to summarize this series with that one line. Why? Because it's something you'd never hear Batman say... well, ever. Still, Miller has him say this more than once throughout the series.
I was really hoping Miller would be able to regain his footing with The Spirit. It doesn't look like that is going to happen. It's really sad- Miller has created some incredible works in the comics industry. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was one of the most brilliant pieces of comic writing that I've ever seen. Miller's Sin City series basically got me into graphic novels and comics period. The man is a legend and he deserves to be. But I have to admit, he is slipping.
Today, it was announced that Miller is going to be making a remake of Buck Rogers. If The Spirit is as bad as they say, I cannot see this project being any better. Still, I'll see The Spirit myself and tell you all what I think.
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