Not exactly the Christmas Spirit

1 comment December 18th, 2008

The reviews for Frank Miller’s THE SPIRIT are starting to trickle in and, well, they’re not good.

From Justin Chang in VARIETY:

“There’s a lot going on here, but none of it sticks — not the shopworn plotting nor the arch, stilted dialogue. The actors often seem to be delivering their lines in ironic quote marks, suggesting a straight-faced sendup of noir and comicbook conventions that, whatever the intended effect, falls mostly flat.”

From El Gringo over at Ain’t It Cool News (a site where you’d think SPIRIT fans would dominate):

“the spirit could pass for ambitious (but it isn’t), and it lacks a lot of emotional commitment. i found it not so fun to watch, and quite painful to sit through. the lead character, even though bravely supported by actor gabriel macht, is so stupid it’s jaw-dropping (wait to see him get confused by evidence that would get a 5-year old to close the case). he’s absolutely unfathomable as a character, driven by nothing, attached to no-one but his so-called mother (a.k.a. his city).”

And this from JonDough over at Ain’t It Cool, who calls it the worst movie he’s ever seen. Here are his musings on how studio execs should’ve reacted to Miller: 

“Didn’t they know that high school plays directed by a middle school teacher who’s only directing because he hates his life has better staging than this? They SHOULD have.”

Uh oh. As a longtime fan of THE SPIRIT comic books (and, actually, of most of Miller’s comic book work and SIN CITY), I thought THE SPIRIT looked like (a) something that completely missed the spirit (har har) of those original comics, and (b) the worst of Miller’s excesses all in one place. But even I didn’t think it looked this bad.

It opens on Christmas Day, opposite David Fincher’s THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON.

If this is true, it’s a very bad idea

3 comments December 18th, 2008

According to the always-reliable British tabloid The Sun, Eddie Murphy is set to play the Riddler in the next Batman movie.

 That’s right. The star of  NUTTY PROFESSOR 2: THE KLUMPS, THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH, MEET DAVE and the Oscar-nominated NORBIT could have a major role in Christopher Nolan’s next Batman film. It’s one of the most popular, most critically acclaimed super-hero series ever, so naturally they’d want a hack of Murphy’s caliber to lend the franchise a touch of class. Maybe he could fart a lot, like he did in the KLUMPS.

Frankly, I don’t believe it. Nolan is too smart to make that sort of casting misstep, and the serious, dark tone of the movies has been a big moneymaker so far. I’m more inclined to believe the Johnny Depp-as Riddler rumors, but even that’s suspicious. My guess? No one’s been cast yet.

Also in Batman casting news, Shia LaBeouf is supposedly set to co-star as Robin, with Rachel Weisz playing Catwoman. LABeouf is the young star of the moment, so I’m not surprised his name is being tossed around. He’s not bad, but I hope there’s no Robin in the next movie. Stick to Batman and a single villain — don’t fall into the overcrowded trap of the earlier Batman movies. As for Weisz as Catwoman, I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I could see that. She’s a good actress, and could convey the sexy/dangerous attitude of Catwoman.

But you know what they should really do if they use Catwoman in the next movie? Hire the last writer on the CATWOMAN comic book to work on the script. That would guarantee success.