Movie Review: ‘The Spirit”
In the past, the holiday season is a time for at least one big box office hit, and while the period between 2001 and 2005 may have been taken over by Peter Jackson’s army of Orcs and giant gorillas, the pattern has been consistent. This year, however, you shouldn’t expect to be blown away, or even spend the money on admission with an adaptation of a literary or Hollywood classic, as Frank Miller and his motley crew try to pass off a remake of Will Eisner’s classic “middle-class crime fighter” comic. The film, as a whole, makes very little sense and will bring mostly heartache to fans of the source material, and on an original level, the movie jumps around both in mood, story, and even dialogue so much that it makes it feel like you’ve been watching [[[Sin City]]] fan film for over 90 minutes.
The movie should have simply been called a faux sequel to Sin City, because that is what it felt like. Gravely voices, over-the-top villains, and women in leather should just be what was written on the poster for this film, because those elements just about sum up what to expect. There are a few twists and turns, mostly in the tone of the film and how it jumps from a high-paced action film to a slapstick comedy around every turn. The inconsistency alone is enough to deter most of the audience, let alone the campy dialogue or ridiculous plot devices that would have Eisner spinning in the grave.
Those who were/are a fan of Eisner’s original story or even the later retellings know the basic story behind the hero: Denny Colt, a middle-class rookie cop in Central City is presumed killed, but actually goes into suspended animation, only to come back and create the identity of The Spirit, a man who is able to fight crime in a way local cops can’t, all while wearing a blue suit, red tie, domino mask, and a fedora. [[[The Spirit]]] never had super powers, but still had the same mystery as rival character Batman to the in-book villains. This new representation has The Spirit as a man who was killed, and brought back to life by a serum that gave him super powers, allowing him to recover from fatal wounds quickly and run across telephone lines. He now must take down The Octopus, his archrival who mysteriously has the same powers as our red-tied hero.
Keith DeCandido is known throughout the fan community as one of the best writers of media-related fiction in both the novel and graphic world. While primarily recognized for Star Trek, he has also written fiction based on Supernatural, CSI: NY, and Farscape, among others. His novel of John Crichton’s adventures, House of Cards, was published in 2001. Recently, BOOM! Studios picked up the rights to publish new Farscape stories and the show’s creator, Rockne S. O’Bannon, will plot the first one with a script by Keith and art by Tommy Patterson. After some delay, the first issue will be in stores on Wednesday/ ComicMix briefly spoke with Keith about the show and how he got involved in the new stories.
Paramount Pictures and IMAX Corporation announced late Friday that Star Trek, directed by J.J. Abrams (Mission: Impossible III, Lost and Alias), will be simultaneously released to both IMAX and conventional theatres worldwide on May 8, 2009. Star Trek, which chronicles the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members, will be digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience with proprietary IMAX DMR (Digital Re-mastering) technology. Paramount Pictures will be the exclusive distributor of the film to IMAX theatres worldwide. 
Chances are if you are serious about comics or pop culture, you’ll be buying Dark Knight on DVD today or soon, but this week’s haul at the comic shop has some other things worthy of your wallet’s attention including that little goodie to the right. We preview them, plus:
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The Original Crew of the Starship Enterprise is roaring to the iPhone and iPod touch from IDW Publishing and iVerse Media. Available immediately, Star Trek Archives: The Best of Peter David #1 is the first issue of the ongoing digital comics series that reprints some of the best comics from Star Trek’s illustrious history. Peter David is one of the most popular and respected Star Trek writers, known for his mingling of humor and popular culture. 
Before J.J. Abrams drove us all nuts with Star Trek, he spent years driving us nuts with 
Casting continues for Flash Forward, the proposed ABC series based on Robert J. Sawyer’s science fiction novel.
