Effort has been put into the comic book look, from black and white visual effects to the piercing red tie of Central City. But frenzied overacting and plotlines–like watching someone 'try' to act themselves acting badly–are impossible to enjoy.

On the face of it the plot is quite simple. The Spirit, a masked crime-fighter played by Gabriel Macht, has charm that makes every woman adore him; he can also heal very fast. Unfortunately The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) has the same power (Coincidence? Not really!) and is out to rule the world.

Meanwhile The Spirit gets on with being a true ladies man, though his intentions are not to hurt any of quite a few ladies, including Eva Mendes as Sand Saref, his first love, addicted to everything shiny.

Repeat the name Sand Saref a hundred times. Think that's annoying? Go watch the movie. The lines, like "Shut up and bleed!" are sometimes out of place and sometimes just plain bad.

The mystery, horror, comedy, and romance of the comics have been dumped on screen in a confusing blur. A one-minute romance turns into the Spirit getting stabbed. A minute later the narrative has already moved on to the death of a hero (a second death, I may add). Scenes that should have made sense in context–one employing Nazi uniform and swastikas–seem out of place and potentially offensive.