Wednesday, August 13, 2008

That's the Spirit!

UPDATE: FOOTAGE WAS REMOVED


So Frank Miller is making The Spirit. And that's pretty cool. I know nothing of Will Eisner's original comic, but I like the Sin City books, I like the way the movie's were done, I love The Dark Knight Returns, etc. So I was pretty excited about this project when it was announced, as I think most of the geek world was. Then the trailer dropped, and everyone was confused, myself included. However, I don't think I felt as everyone else did. I thought the visuals were pretty cool, kind of a moving comic book in a way, which I really like. The characters and scenes didn't really grab me necessarily, but it is just a trailer, and I am completely unfamiliar with the souce material.

But then news dropped from comic-con that Miller premeired a fight scene from the film that was not only underwhelming but completely stupid. Well that footage has finally leaked online, and I've gotta say, I don't know what everyone is complaining about. I think yes, there's quite a bit of cheese here, but there's also a lot to like. I think the look of it is pretty awesome. The fight itself is rather entertaining, even though yes, it's got some B-movie stuff. Ok so maybe that's not a lot, but I wasn't completely disgusted with the whole thing. The thing I think we all need to remember, is this is only 1:20 of the film. Maybe the rest is just as cheesy, maybe not, and if it is, maybe that will end up being ok. I think only time is gonna tell on this one, I'm not ready to count it out just yet. What did you think of this footage?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I gotta say, i was there when that footage was shown, and that fight got the best response of the three from the audience. Personally, I'm loving this film having not really liked sin city all that much.

While the response has been overwhelmingly negative so far, I was really digging what was being shown.

-Dustin

G.Rett said...

you know I just read some comments over on cinematical where a guy brought up the point that Miller was the one who took camp out of comics, and now for his directorial debut he's putting the camp back in? I dunno, i thought this was a pretty valid point, althought I agree with you, Dustin, that this does not look as bad as everyone says it does.

Dustin said...

I think that's Miller's genius plan. Here's the guy who pretty much perfected the "Gritty, Raw, Violent, Sexual, Graphic" style of comics. Twenty Years later, just about every comic is trying to mimic Frank Miller. Even to the point that when Frank Miller does it, he looks soft in comparison. Check out All Star Batman and Robin. I hated it at first but now i see that Miller was pulling my leg the whole time. He takes batman, makes him the angsty screaming madman like he was in Dark Knight Returns, and makes him look abslutely insane. It's hysterical!

Certainly there have been stories that have been done recently that have pushed the boundaries of the artform, but now it's refreshing when someone comes out and does something that's not at all serious, fun, and a bit campy.

Some people have cried out how he's basically defacing Will Eisner but at that panel, Miller said he would never rehash what Eisner has done, but instead use the best technology possible to make something new and interestng.

That to me is much more satisfying than seeing what would essentially had become Mx Payne with a mask if done by someone who was not friends with Eisner. Not to mention, they also discussed how every shot was decided by whether or not Eisner would approve. Sure that could be BS, but Miller talks about Eisner in a way that you just know he's making sure he doesn't screw up.

-Dustin