The Spirit | Rotten Tomatoes

The Spirit

PG-13

Released Dec 25, 2008

1h 42m

Action

Adventure

Romance

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The Spirit: Trailer 1

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14%

Tomatometer

115 Reviews

25%

Audience Score

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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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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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

David Fear

Time Out

Rated: 2/5

Nov 18, 2011

Full Review

Jake Wilson

The Age (Australia)

As an action director Miller is almost as clumsy as Baz Luhrmann, but he's far from naïve, and presumably the delirium of The Spirit is exactly what he intended.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 13, 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

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Dave S

A stylized comic book movie that does what it is perfectly.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/25/23

Full Review

Derek M

If you enjoy bad acting, horrible graphics, a non sensical plot and being utterly confused and bored: this is the movie for you. It's not just bad it's insulting on multiple levels. How did this happen?

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/12/23

Full Review

T. H

"To call the characters cardboard is to insult a useful packing material." - Roger Ebert

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/04/23

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David W

Looks great (if you enjoyed Sin City's aesthetic) but the acting and muddled script aren't up to much. That's not to say it's unwatchable, just strangely amateurish. There are some unitentional laughs to be had which bumps it up another half star.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/07/24

Full Review

Georgan G

3 & 1/4 stars. Thiss gorgeous film is as close to being an actual comic that I've ever seen. Loved it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/22/23

Full Review

Red T

Wow....It looked nice at the start...would've been even nicer to know what the heck that was about. The acting is Really Bad because the over the top performances, HORRIFCALLY bad dialogue that hampers any attempt to understand the characters deeper, and the lack of any charm/chemistry. The cinematography is horrifically bad in a unique way. Yes this is done in the Sin City/Noir film style which is cool to look at but its used in terribly dumb ways, ways that make no sense, or laughably bad ways constantly as things go on. The Nazi Scene, Swinging around with no pants, him checking out every woman he meets, all feels out of place and bizarre. The music is generic, and the editing/pacing are so misguidedly off. We never get backstory on the villains and the attempts in flashbacks throughout to tell the Spirits backstory is muddled because of the dialogue and lack of a coherent narrative beyond the he has to stop the Octopus. As things go on, I honestly could not tell you what was going on, what the tone is, or and got more lost as things progressed. I seriously don't know what I just watched, but I do have one takeaway that this is easily one of the worst Super Hero movies ever made. No one should watch this.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/09/23

Full Review

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Frank Miller

Director

Gabriel Macht

Denny Colt

Samuel L. Jackson

The Octopus

Sarah Paulson

Ellen

Eva Mendes

Sand Saref

Dan Lauria

Dolan

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RT on DVD: Frank Miller Talks The Spirit, Michel Gondry Releases New Music Video DVD

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The Spirit: Trailer 1

2:07

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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: Benjamin Melniker, Steven Maier, Bill Lischak
Screenwriter: Frank Miller
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Odd Lot Entertainment, Lionsgate Films
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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