Critical End!

Bored yet?

Although I have some pretty strong feelings about the 1951 original film, let’s leave it out of the equation, as it would be a shame to even associate it with this remake. 2008’s The Day the Earth Stood Still is a boring, misguided, highly commercialized, and pointlessly PC big budget Hollywood remake…but, c’mon: What did you really expect?

Where to begin? The cast stumbles through the movie to the point that you’ll feel like you can hear them turning each page of the script. Keanu Reeves delivers some of his best acting since that time he said “Whoa”; Jennifer Connelly proves to us once again that she’s great at crying on cue; Kathy Bates shows up for some reason; and Jaden Smith does a pretty decent job of making the audience wait around for his death scene (still waiting). The one highlight as far as acting is concerned, is John Cleese, who does a wonderful job in his single, three and a half minute scene (which, for reasons beyond me, he received third billing for).

This film also contains more product placements than you can shake a bag of overpriced popcorn at. For example, did you know that most McDonald’s now sell hot tea? Or that Citizen watches keep great time? Or that Microsoft makes a really cool touch screen thingy? At one point I started to wonder if the characters were in some sort of Truman Show spin off.

But enough about all of that. The biggest problem with the film comes at the end when…well, I would hate to spoil the one part of the movie when the earth finally does stand still. Not to mention all of the plot holes and unanswered questions that this leaves the audience with. Hmmm. Well, no time for that, let’s roll those credits! Okay, I won’t lie. That part was pretty good.

Rating:
3 out of 10

Gritty!

I’ve been a Frank Miller devotee since Since Sin City. Loved the arresting visuals and the noir style. And, of course, drawing a comic is a lot like directing a movie, so it’s no wonder that film worked so well, right? Well it turns out having Robert Rodriguez as your copilot counts for something, because The Spirit, Miller’s first solo effort, is lacking.

Sin City was over the top, yes. Incredibly so. But it took itself seriously, even in its funny moments. The Spirit alternates between believing in its fiction (the straight, pulpy crop drama scenes, brilliantly performed by Dan Lauria of The Wonder Years fame) and poking fun at it with winking-at-the-audience silliness (Sam Jackson gets whacked with a metal bar that retains the shape of his face). Either approach could make for a fun movie. Both approaches at once make for a schizophrenic one. Maybe it’s the result of Miller attempting to put his own stamp on another creator’s work, fellow comic legend Will Eisner. Regardless, this inconsistency prevents you from ever really getting comfortable with the film.

The visual style doesn’t disappoint. Miller knows what he’s doing there. There are some odd choices (what’s so thematically important about the soles of his shoes?), but you’ll get your fix of eye candy. Not the least of which comes in the form of the female leads, mostly chosen because they are members of the small slice of the female population that look like living Frank Miller drawings. Still, they’re competent in their roles. I even kinda dug Scarlett Johansson, a rarity for me.

Sam Jackson is a master, of course. He can do whatever the hell he likes and I’m on board. The two stand-outs, though, were the kids who play our heroes in the flashback. Much like in Ghost Rider, I found myself wishing I was watching a movie about them instead (two strikes, Eva Mendes!). The most forgettable was Gabriel Macht, the Spirit himself, but when he barked the line “Somebody find me a tie! I don’t care what kind, but by God, it had better be red!” I bought it.

Probably the one thing in The Spirit that actually feels like an innovative edition to the superhero film is the way they handle the hero’s origin. The first Spider-Man spends half the movie on his origin. Batman Begins is entirely origin. The Spirit tosses us in to the action and dolls out backstory piecemeal as the film rolls along, only revealing all the details toward the end. Nothing new for cinema in general, but a trick this genre desperately needed to pick up. Unfortunately, this can’t compensate for the film’s rocky overall pacing and few truly impressive moments. If you like Miller, it’s worth a viewing, but don’t expect the A game he brings with ink and paper.

Rating:
6 out of 10

We are two journeymen on the road to cinematic zen. Good. Bad. French. We’ll sit through it and let you know what we think. (Except for maybe the French.) Read our opinions right here. Listen to them on the podcast. Tell us we’re wrong in the comments. Enjoy!

Logan Lee & Ryan DiGiorgi