The Spirit

(USA, 2008, 102 minutes)

A seemingly invulnerable masked crimefighter tries to unravel the connection between a former flame who has become a jewel thief and his drug-dealiung nemesis. Clunky, grating big-screen adaptation of a cult comic strip that veers wildly between hardboiled film noir homage, cartoonish comedy and hyper-stylized, chiaroscuro comic-book visuals, and never hits the right tone. A miss.

An Oddlot Entertainment/Lionsgate presentation/production. Starring Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, Paz Vega, Eric Balfour, Jaime King; with Scarlett Johansson; and Samuel L. Jackson. Directed by Frank Miller; produced by Deborah del Prete, Gigi Pritzker, Michael E. Uslan; screenplay by Frank Miller, based on the comic-book characters by Will Eisner; music by David Newman; director of photography (colour, Panavision), Bill Pope; art director, Rosario Provenza; costume designer, Michael Dennison; film editor, Gregory Nussbaum; visual effects supervisor, Stu Maschowitz.