The Spirit
Dir: Frank Miller
2008
***
I understand why many didn't like The Spirit. It's fair to say it's not the greatest comic book adaptation ever made, surprising as it was directed by one of the greatest comic book authors of all time but I guess that answers the question 'Do great comic book authors make good film directors'. That said, it's not a bad debut for any director and it's certainly not the visuals that let it down. I think what really lets it down is that it is never clear what kind of film it's supposed to be. I appreciated the quirky humour but was this film meant to be serious with a few jokes or is it 100% spoof? I guess some things just don't translate well from comic to screen. Still, I quite liked it, it really isn't anywhere near as bad as everyone says, disappointing because of what it could have been but give me this over The Fantastic Four any day of the week. My dream come true would be to now see Martha Washington brought to life and made into a film - a quadrilogy at least!