Better late than never for The Spirit

When it makes its debut in theatres on Christmas Day, The Spirit will prove that you’re never too old to make it in Hollywood. 

Based on a classic comic book by Will Eisner, it’s taken more than 65 years and the mind of Frank Miller to finally bring the pulp fiction hero to the cinema. Along the way, the Sin City filmmaker picked up some amazing talent including Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes and Scarlett Johansson.

“I’m not really a comic book fan,” admitted Johansson recently in New York. “What brought me to this project was Frank. I loved Sin City and thought he must be a pretty interesting fellow.”

Apparently he was. After an initial three-hour lunch meeting, Johansson “just felt like being a part of his vision” and, apparently, the feeling was mutual.

Miller quickly realized he was “conversing with one of the great comedic talents of our times. It was like working with a young Lucille Ball.”

If that reference seems somewhat nostalgic, it was designed that way. After all, one cannot overlook the playful nature of Miller’s movie with its war-time-era ancestry. 

Set in the fictional Central City, The Spirit tells the story of Denny Colt (Gabriel Macht), a murdered cop who is mysteriously resurrected.

While struggling to rediscover his identity, he patrols the city battling crime and his arch-nemeses — the nefarious Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) and his brilliant sidekick (Johansson).

“It’s an honour to walk into a situation and put flesh and blood to a character that’s only been a pair of gloves (until now),” said Jackson, regarding his character’s cryptic appearance in the comic.

“I kind of took that as my licence to do all the things I ever wanted to do on a film and chew up scenery and not get criticized for it.”

And The Spirit definitely allows for that. With a powerful tone, Miller’s strong protagonists pay special homage to the characters he loved from classical film noir.

“I was really thrilled with the voices in this movie. Gabriel’s is straight up (legendary detective novelist) Raymond Chandler and Eva’s is, well, Eva’s,” stated Miller before laughing. “I guess we had to put up with Sam.”