Frank Miller makes the movie The Spirit.
I dunno... I still think Miller's The Dark Knight Returns is the best superhero comic ever made, but I've not been all that crazy about his stuff since, including the movies. He seems to have lost the story in favor of all-out violence porn.
And to me, The Spirit, the comic by Will Eisner, was always this very intellectual, story-based thing. It had such complex, quiet, amazing stories. And it seems Miller has made it into a generic, CGI-based, super-action fantasy. His version of the Spirit seems no different from a hundred other testosterone-overloaded superheroes. And I don't think Eisner's Spirit actually ever had any supernatural healing powers either. He was just a guy who was presumed dead by the world, so he felt free of the burden of a legal identity.
A different matter is that to my taste, the 90% CGI made movies like Sky Captain and Sin City, they haven't yet succeeded. They just don't look real, and they don't compensate for that by looking very interesting. You have to do at least one or the other.
It seems early reviews of The Spirit are mediocre. And this is from somebody who loved Sin City, which I found boring, so maybe I'll skip The Spirit.
Brian said:
He didn't have super powers. That's what made him different and interesting to a lot of us. Take that away, give him powers - he becomes just another run-of-the-mill superhero.
eolake said...
Yes indeed.
In fact the Spirit was not ever a superhero, he was just a private eye. The publisher wanted a "masked adventurer" (as superheroes were called then) and so Eisner gave him a mask and some slight mystery, but that's all.
And I don't think Eisner's Spirit actually ever had any supernatural healing powers either.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't. That's what made him different and interesting to a lot of us. Take that away, give him powers - he becomes just another run-of-the-mill superhero.
I doubt I'll bother to see this one.
I agree with you about Miller, I haven't liked anything he's done since...well, I guess Batman: Year One came out after The Dark Knight Returns, right? If so, I'd say I haven't liked anything he's done since then.
I'm sure he's made enough $ off what he's done to date. If he's got nothing good left maybe he should think about retirement. Of course, he could be like a gambler who can't quit, thinking the big score, the big comeback is just over the next hill.
That was Brian. I'm sure I typed my name in, but when I clicked "Publish your comment" it did so sans name.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed.
ReplyDeleteIn fact the Spirit was not ever a superhero, he was just a private eye. The publisher wanted a "masked adventurer" as superheroes were called then, and so Eisner gave him a mask and some slight mystery, but that's all.
Right, Year One was pretty good, as was the Born Again storyline (Daredevil) he also did with David Mazzucelli.
ReplyDeleteI liked Sin City.
ReplyDeleteVery dark, but I thought it worked quite well and was nicely adapted.
JMO.
I'll probably see this one too, just because I'm a sucker for superpowered hero movies that don't suck TOO much. Can't be worse than the old Sixties superhero cartoons. I wouldn't mind their poor animation, but really, their whole plot was catastrophic. As if to be the founding inspiration of TVtropes.org!
Not to say I'd worship this film, but I expect it to be worth the time spent watching it. For my tastes.
This being said, I'm sure there was ample room to make it instead into a wonderfully atmospheric retro private eye movie. Kind of what Dick Tracy failed to achieve. The Phantom also disappointed me. Too much for the nostalgic fans, maybe?
"I'm sure I typed my name in, but when I clicked "Publish your comment" it did so sans name."
Fantômas strikes again!
That man's like a demon, he's everywhere!
But don't panic! Always know where your towel is. Mine is in the word verification window. I swear!
having never read the actual comic Im not to worried about the film, although I do find they seem to be trying to cash in the on the Sin City look for the commercials. I like S.C. I thought it looked like a great animated comic book.
ReplyDeleteBut my fanbox hopes and dreams are still being held for The Watchmen movie. My fingers are crossed in permanant hopes that it 'wont suck the big one'
It seems unlikely, given that (to my mind) the genius of the comic book was the format rather than the story.
ReplyDeleteOne funny thing about The Spirit is that he never wore socks (or if he did they were flesh colored). And he must have borrowed Einstein's idea of buying a whole bunch of the same clothes, so that he wouldn't have to think about what he would wear each day. That same blue suit... And it was always getting wrecked up.
ReplyDeleteYes. There was a drawing by Eisner years ago with The Spirit asking Batman how he kept his outfit whole.
ReplyDeleteWrecking the suit is a good idea. It shows the impact of the fight, and it gives added visual interest.
Another markedly disappointing movie adaptation was Masters of the Universe, with "nothing-but-muscles" Dolph Lundgren in the role of He-Man. They just up and removed nearly all the stuff that made the cartoon cool. :-P
ReplyDelete[Trivia: since the expression "he-man" is tricky to translate to another language, in French the big guy became "Musclor".]
"the genius of the comic book was the format rather than the story."
Which one? In case you haven't noticed, there is heavy crossfire of references in the vicinity. With all due respect, Captain, sir! [peowww!] Whoa!
"And he must have borrowed Einstein's idea"
Also the one about no socks!
Although I have a rare photo of the Great Albert caught red-handed (make that "white-footed") wearing socks. Even "never" was relative with that devil of a man!
"That same blue suit... And it was always getting wrecked up."
Yeah, and I wonder how much work Ma Kent has to put in all these capes!
In fact, I wonder WHY the blasted cape anyway! Especially now that it's no more an ubiquitously handy kryptonian fabric.
"No capes.
Do you remember Thunderhead? Tall, storm powers? Nice man, good with kids. November 15th of '58! All was well, another day saved, when his cape snagged on a missile. Stratogale! April 23rd, '57! Cape caught in a jet turbine!
Metaman: express elevator! Dynaguy: snag on takeoff! Splashdown: sucked into a vortex! No capes!!" -- (The Incredibles)
If I don't make a quote, count on it being the answer to the post just above.
ReplyDeleteI was talking about The Watchmen.
Which interestingly enough might also be the genus of the idea in the Incredibles of capes being dangerous. I think Rorschach talked about an early colleague getting it trapped in a revolving door.
(OK, surely Moore was not the first to fall on the idea that they might be less than handy.)
Wrecking the suit is a good idea. It shows the impact of the fight, and it gives added visual interest.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of it getting wrecked up but it seems to me a bit too much like a superhero uniform. That's why Eisner didn't like the idea of the mask either, and wouldn't have used it if it had been up to him.
Another markedly disappointing movie adaptation was Masters of the Universe, with "nothing-but-muscles" Dolph Lundgren in the role of He-Man. They just up and removed nearly all the stuff that made the cartoon cool. :-P
ReplyDeleteSkeletor was cool, though.
Which interestingly enough might also be the genus of the idea in the Incredibles of capes being dangerous. I think Rorschach talked about an early colleague getting it trapped in a revolving door.
ReplyDelete(OK, surely Moore was not the first to fall on the idea that they might be less than handy.)
I think you're right, and personally I found the Watchmen bit funnier than in The Incredibles. Still, a cape works for Superman because he doesn't have to worry if his cape gets caught in something. He'd shrug off getting blowed up by a missile. Unless it had a Kryptonite warhead, I guess.
There was something special building in the comics world in the late 80's that vanished in the 90's... it's one reason why I stopped reading them in the mid-90's. The best 80's comics (mostly sans DC/Marvel) were like 70's punk rock, freewheeling, semi-profitable, risky, and counter-culture. Someone smarter than me can tell you what happened that changed all that.
ReplyDeleteHard question. Perhaps it was just an accidental confluence of super-creative writers who then burned out.
ReplyDelete"Wrecking the suit"...
ReplyDeleteReminds me of how easily Agent X-9's clothes ended up in shreds from one fight picture to the next. But never from a three-page run across thorn bushes. ;-)
"Skeletor was cool, though."
Skeletor from the movie? I found his very large mask quite silly. As if a faithful head-sized skull mask was some impossible feat for the make-up department.
And I was young when I saw that movie. Not overly demanding.
"Perhaps it was just an accidental confluence of super-creative writers who then burned out."
Or maybe it was just Mammon's curse...
"Unless it had a Kryptonite warhead"?
ReplyDeleteWhy, what an exsssssscelllent idea, Johnnie Walker! Maybe my nexsssssst plan uzzzing the Kryptonian will succsssssseed...
Iffff such izzzz the kasssse, ressst assssured you shall be rewarded by bekoming one of my klozzzzesssssst minionnnsssssss....
A good skull mask is Death in the DiscWorld movies.
ReplyDeleteSkeletor from the movie? I found his very large mask quite silly. As if a faithful head-sized skull mask was some impossible feat for the make-up department.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was young when I saw that movie. Not overly demanding.
I guess I'm remembering it as being better than it was.
It shouldn't be all that surprising, though, that a movie based on an 80s cartoon was bad. Look at Transformers The Movie. Not the recent one but the 1986 animated version. That killed the whole toy line. Kids aren't stupid, we knew the show was just a half-hour toy commercial, but it had moments of greatness. When we saw the movie we thought "What the #$%@ is this?!"
They made DiscWorld movies? OK, I'm zooming to Wikipedia for the list, and I've GOT to watch me those!
ReplyDeleteLucky for me, I only half-followed the Transformers on TV. But one very cool thing came with the movie... that wasn't FROM the movie! Namely, a toy of Ravage, the panther Decepticon, in a deluxe version where it turns into a 20cm car, a gorgeous... Jaguar XK! Realistic detailed interior, the works.
And it only cost as much as a same-size Burago model car.
They should've put it in the movie...
One of my life's cruelest traumas, is that action figures arriving in Lebanon is a random hit-and-miss. Many excellent series never show up at all, while other rather pointless stuff just avalanches.
Oh, how I envy the little African kids whose sole worry is when they'll get to eat and dring again!
"They made DiscWorld movies?"
ReplyDeleteI've blogged them, my man.
Only two so far: Hogfather and The Colour Of Magic.