5 Reasons Why "The Spirit" Was a Huge Disappointment

1. Because Sin City was so good. Sin City was my favorite movie of 2005 and dare I say one of the coolest movies ever. It is a visually stunning film, with a modern and innovative story and a brilliant cast. With that in mind I expected Frank Miller's directing of The Spirit to be just as spectacular. Maybe that was my first mistake. NO, I wasn't expecting another Sin City - that is what the sequel is for, but I was expecting something exciting, something...unexpected. Ok, so the film is visually stunning and is in-line with Frank Miller's graphic sense of "style", but it seemed more like a cheap rip-off of Sin City instead of an original creation. And yet the visual aspect of the film is the only good thing it has....



2. Gabriel Macht. Now I am one of the very few people who knew of Gabriel Macht before this movie and would actually consider myself to be a "Gabriel Macht fan", while most people would say "who?" He has been relegated to playing "the other guy" in movies like The Good Shepard, The Recruit and American Outlaws, yet he always seemed to stand out to me. Imagine my delight when I heard he would be starring in Frank Miller's next film! Now after seeing him as a lead actor, I realize being "the other guy" might be where Gabe belongs because he certainly can't carry a film. Where was his charisma, his essence, his spirit if you will? Plus with his face behind that ridiculous eye mask you can't even see how hot he is.

3. The dreadfulness that is Scarlett Johannson. I never jumped on the Scar Jo bandwagon, but i have enjoyed her recent collaborations with Woody Allen (Matchpoint, Scoop and Vicky Christina Barcelona). Yet, Allen seems to be the only director that can get any kind of emotion out of the actress. She is worse than dreadful in this film, it's laughable - and not in that it's so cheesy it's good kind of way. I'm aware that her presence in the film is mere eye candy and that her ability to act isn't pertinent, but while some actresses pull this off gracefully - like Jessica Alba in Sin City, Scarlett seems to even bore herself in this film.

4. Predictable and unoriginal - The two worst things you can say about a film. This film, although tries to fool you into thinking you are watching something new, is in fact the same ole' superhero movie. Hero vs. villain. Plain and simple.

5. Waste of time - I rarely say this about any film, because as a movie lover - even the bad films are worth watching at least once. I saw this movie in a fairly large theater yet only about 20 people filled the seats and by the end there were only 5 left. During the absurdity of the Nazi scene (yes, there is a Nazi scene), I even considered joining the others by walking out, but having never walked out of a movie before, decided against it. However I wish I had that hour and 48 minutes of my life back. It definitely is added to my worst films of 2008 list...