Comic book creator Frank Miller brings what he learnt co-directing Sin City to this adaptation of Will Eisner’s classic newspaper strip. Turns out, that’s not much.
Miller aims for a pulpy but satirical tone, a stylistic choice many misunderstood. Sadly, even when spotted, the execution doesn’t coalesce. Gabriel Macht is a limp lead; famous co-stars overact; visually it’s a Sin City rip-off… Castle’s Stana Katic as an eager rookie is the best thing in it (that might just be me…)
There’s the seed of a fantastic idea in Miller’s vision of The Spirit, but it germinates as an amateurish wannabe.
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is released on DVD and Blu-ray today.
This review is part of the 100 Films Advent Calendar 2014. Read more here.
In the interests of completing my ever-growing backlog, I decided to post ‘drabble reviews’ of some films. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a drabble is a complete piece of writing exactly 100 words long. You’ve just read one.
* The Spirit was trimmed by 25 seconds to get a 12A for UK cinemas. The Blu-ray release is branded as an “Extended Cut” but is merely the uncut original, and is rated 15. This was the version shown on TV. ^
100Films.co.uk 
At great expense I collected the Spirit Archives, hardback volumes of the complete run of Spirit strips, over several years. So I can with some authority say that this terrible film has nothing at all to do with the original comic. The Spirit is the grandaddy of modern comics and deserved better, particularly from someone who works in the industry. Miller should be ashamed.
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