Trailer Tuesday: The Spirit

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Speak of the devil... er... Spirit. Yeah, it was only last week that I commented on this comic book adaptation, written and directed by Frank Miller, based on the classic Will Eisner comic series.

Honestly, watching this teaser trailer, my initial opinion hasn't changed much. The Spirit film clearly isn't as gritty or intense as Miller's 300 and Sin City film adaptations - this is understandable, considering Eisner's groundbreaking hybrid source material, which supposedly mixed crime drama, film noir, lighthearted adventure, mystery, horror, comedy and romance. (I say "supposedly" because I'm largely unfamiliar with The Spirit series).

Anyway, returning to the trailer, the film makers clearly aren't doing much to distance themselves from the hyper-stylisation of Sin City and 300 - which is a bit concerning if they don't want to be seen as derivative. There's the black, white and red colour pallet of Sin City; the swirling cloaks, the stark urban environment, the grim voice-over. There's even the 300-style font and character leap towards the camera lens... So, I dunno. I'm still going to wait and see about this one. I just really hope Frank Miller isn't a one trick pony when it comes to movie making.

The Spirit is due out in January next year - the release date period most often used by studios when they're unsure about how audiences will respond to their more "unusual / quirky" offerings.

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