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The Spirit

Play trailer 2:07 Poster for The Spirit PG-13 2008 1h 42m Action Adventure Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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14% Tomatometer 114 Reviews 26% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Apparently murdered cop Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht) returns as the Spirit, dedicated to protecting Central City from crime. His archenemy, the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), is a ruthless killer who will destroy the Spirit's well-loved city to find the secret of immortality. As the Spirit pursues his quarry, he meets many beautiful women who would be happy to either kiss or kill him.
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The Spirit

The Spirit

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Critics Consensus

Though its visuals are unique, The Spirit's plot is almost incomprehensible, the dialogue is ludicrously mannered, and the characters are unmemorable.

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Critics Reviews

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Tammy Oler Bitch Media The Spirit isn't so much the female characters or the cleavage shots, but the fact that they're entirely deployed in the service of a dumb, juvenile fantasy of malehood. Dec 18, 2020 Full Review Jake Wilson The Age (Australia) As an action director Miller is almost as clumsy as Baz Luhrmann, but he's far from naĆÆve, and presumably the delirium of The Spirit is exactly what he intended. Rated: 2/5 Feb 13, 2009 Full Review David Stratton The Australian Miller's background as an artist was undoubtedly an important factor in achieving the striking visual effects. It's just when the human characters dominate the action that the film sinks like a stone. Rated: 2/5 Feb 6, 2009 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Frank Miller’s The Spirit misfires in every way a movie can Rated: 0/4 Mar 3, 2024 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...an unmitigated disaster... Rated: 1/4 Jan 1, 2023 Full Review Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Focuses all of its efforts on flashy visuals and cartoonish humor - forgetting to leave room for action sequences and a story. Rated: 4/10 Nov 28, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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George M Who told Frank Miller he could write and direct a movie? Whoever did, lied to the man. This is an insult to the classic comic. Boring, silly and incomprehensible, it's one of the worst movies ever made. Like the equally horrible Sucker Punch, and The Green Hornet, I still want my money back! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 10/19/25 Full Review Alyce H Possibly the worst film I’ve ever watched. All attempts at humour are poorly timed and badly handled.The characters fall into either entirely obnoxious or immediately forgettable, the latter of which includes the main character himself who is so dull he’d struggle to get a retail job due to his lack of charisma. The big stars here go from trying far too hard to not really trying at all and the whole grey filter gimmick just makes it hard to see, not that you need to as nothing of interest is happening. Truly, truly awful. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/21/25 Full Review thiago s Filme fraco, o roteiro Ć© fraco, as cenas sĆ£o fracas, o elenco Ć© fraco, e ninguĆ©m ajudou a melhorar o filme, a história Ć© fraca, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e mais relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom, e o filme parece uma cópia muito fraca do Sin City. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 04/17/25 Full Review Travis C I just watched this for the first time in years, and forgot how much I loved it! This movie came out before liking superheroes was "mainstream." Frank Miller has a very specific directing style and this was very much his film. The cast was great, everyone seemed to be on the same page when it came to how much to act or, occasionally, overact. This movie was very faithful to the source material, so if you aren't a comic book fan, you might not be prepared for this movie. Watch this movie with an open mind and take in everything. The Spirit seems to be a satire of super heroes at times, but it's really a love letter to the comic book medium. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/14/25 Full Review Audience Member Samuel L Jackson is the only fun thing in this movie. I guess the art style of the movie was good too, BUT THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO THINGS. I am severely disappointed by this one. I went into this thinking it would be a moderately fun time, with a new hero I’d never heard of and came out bored and sad. This certainly had potential. I just think Frank Miller didn’t really flesh out the script enough, there’s no reason I should feel lost have the time then find out I wasn’t lost the movie Just hasn’t explained it yet. I’m giving this a 1/5 stars. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/10/25 Full Review Audience Member Most people can't understand or get behind this movie, and that's fine. It's mostly in part to the fact that, they saw the art style and director and thought "Oh, it's a sequel to Sin City". It's not, and that's why people didn't like it. On it's own, it's an amazing film that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's goofy, on purpose. It's stock full of amazing stars, and they do great jobs at acting badly. Again, all purposeful. It's a goofy take on a crime noir super-hero vs. super villain story. If I could give it more stars, to offset the bad reviews, I would. Go into it ready to laugh, and you'll have a great time. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/09/25 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Apparently murdered cop Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht) returns as the Spirit, dedicated to protecting Central City from crime. His archenemy, the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), is a ruthless killer who will destroy the Spirit's well-loved city to find the secret of immortality. As the Spirit pursues his quarry, he meets many beautiful women who would be happy to either kiss or kill him.
Director
Frank Miller
Producer
Deborah Del Prete, Gigi Pritzker, Michael E. Uslan
Screenwriter
Frank Miller
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
Production Co
Lionsgate Films, Odd Lot Entertainment
Rating
PG-13 (Brief Nudity|Action|Some Sexual Content|Stylized Violence)
Genre
Action, Adventure, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 25, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 7, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$19.8M
Runtime
1h 42m
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