Title: The SpiritRelease Date: December 25, 2008Company: LionsgateRating: PG-13Pros: A couple good performances, some nice visual elements and interesting mix of genres. Definitely Frank Miller’s take on a Will Eisner creation.Cons: Too many disparate, inconsistent and conflicting elements. Several bad performances, choppy dialog, overuse of monologues and exposition visuals. Definitely Frank Miller’s take on a Will Eisner creation.Overall Score: Two thumbs sideways; 73; C; * * out of five.

Frank Miller, known for dark, gritty and uniquely visual creations can seemingly do no wrong. Sin City and 300 were visual amazements that fans loved and pretty much secured him as the man to do graphic-novel-to-film adaptations. Until The Spirit, that is.

Miller’s grit may be good but it’s not really part of the original character and results in some rather confusing and inconsistent plot elements, performances and themes…

Earlier today I attended an advance screening of the upcoming movie based on the comic books The Spirit by Will Eisner.

Lionsgate’s film, to be released on Christmas (December 25, 2008), was written and directed by another graphic novelist, Frank Miller, who is extremely familiar with graphic-novel-to-film adaptations (see 300, Sin City and Elektra).

While the legal document I signed states that I cannot review the film yet (expect to read that soon), here’s what I can tell you about the flick without any spoilers…

Game makers Red Mile Entertainment, Inc., announced today that it has “entered into a multi-year, worldwide license agreement to develop and to publish video games based on the “Sin City” series of graphic novels by writer/artist and film director Frank Miller. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.” The graphic novel series, published by more »