The Spirit | Two Word Heap

January 4th, 2009 | Kevin Forest-Smith

The Spirit

I went to see a movie this holiday season (actually several, but that’s not the point) and one, in particular, sparked an interest… Bedtime Stories.

Kidding.

The movie was The Spirit, originally created by Will Eisner as a 7-page comic back in 1940. Back in those days, he was just your average mix of genres whose only real universal trait was that he dispensed justice to criminals in his city.

Frank Miller took a slightly different perspective in what I believe was an attempt to modernize him enough to do 2 things:

Keep him interesting enough for viewers to enjoy the show.
Possibly increase The Spirit‘s comic sales.

Miller’s newer version (which is so obviously a Miller perspective) mimics another one of his creations, Sin City. The film noir style and the seemingly immortal Spirit lend the character and story an old time feeling. Despite having obvious modern day weaponry and technology, the style of the film gives it the 1940s appearance and feel, bringing viewers in for a close-up feel for the day and age Eisner was originally writing about.

Miller also made a couple other changes. The first being that he gave the Octopus a face, and the second being that he combined both Sand Saref and P’Gell into one character. Keeping Sand’s name but changing her background story enough that you get two of the Spirits femme fatales in one sultry, eye-appealing character.

Eva Mendes as "Sand Saref".

Having just gotten into The Spirit comics myself, I was a little uneducated when going in to see this movie. But, I admit, I really enjoyed the few issues I own. After seeing the movie, I have decided that I will put more time into getting to know the series and look forward to future films based around this character.

The movie was dark and gritty, funny and whimsical, impossible and implausible, dangerous and exciting. Toss in a pinch of romance and this ended up being one fairly well-balanced mix of genres (much like the original Spirit comics were).

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and find myself once again looking forward to what Frank Miller can bring to the table, be it his extreme and intense graphic novels or his movies. With his distinctive style being as familiar to me as Tarantino’s, I know I will be able to pick out his work in the future.