If a comically absurd tale of stylized imagery and half-naked women is what you're looking for this holiday season, The Spirit may very well be the Christmas movie for you to see. But if you're actually looking for a captivating narrative, an intelligent script, or a story that will leave you with more than just a jumble of did-he-really-just-say/do-that? moments, you'd be better off looking elsewhere. Seriously, Denny Colt/The Spirit (Gabriel Macht) spends a good third of the movie talking to cats. Not only does the not-necessarily-comedic movie stir up laughter throughout, at least one member of my audience also found it to be snore-inducing. And although The Spirit does have some intriguing aspects to his personality, the fact that he has some strange oedipal complex with his city is not something I need to be told every five minutes.

Based on the comic by Will Eisner and directed by Frank Miller (writer of Sin City and 300), The Spirit is essentially an introductory type story of Denny Colt/The Spirit, the once-rookie cop now immortal opponent of all crime. His primary nemesis is the "mad scientist" The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson). Think Hitler if he had discovered cloning and had access the best that 21st Century weaponry has to offer. The Spirit likes women, a lot. Cue a sexy cast of lovers, allies, and enemies from his past, present, and around the world and beyond. Oh, and he loves his city—like his mother, and his lover&ellips; and probably his sister too.

As for the story in which The Spirit, his bevy of beauties, and The Octopus are involved, even though its actual unfolding comes off as quite goofy, central to its story is an interesting look at immortality. Contemplating the strange reality which has left Denny somewhere between ghost and man, part of the story is about Denny/The Spirit figuring out what it means to be immortal (or at least semi-immortal). Calling The Spirit into action is The Octopus' own quest for immortality a la divinity, probing further into what it is about immortality that appeals to us so much. And dancing around together in a quest for both fulfillment and understanding, the even greater question becomes: In either this limited lifetime or an immortal one, what is it that makes living worth it at all?

As we see within just minutes of meeting The Spirit, a definite plus of being immortal is that nothing can destroy you. You get shot—no problem. You get killed—you'll be back in few hours. And in a world where simply living from day to day (not to mention standing up to the villains of the universe) will always be filled with people and events that will cut us up, throw us down, and sometimes even threaten our lives, that is quite an advantage.

But as The Octopus hints fairly early on, The Spirit's condition is not just some fluke. In fact, The Octopus, like The Spirit, also possesses superhuman powers of healing. But as The Octopus tells The Spirit, he's after a bit more than just that. To him, immortality is not just about the indestructibility of the body, but the power and superiority which it will give its possessor over all others. In a world where all other men die, true immortality would make him a god. And let's just say when he thinks he's within the reach of just that, he's not about to let The Spirit take that crown away from him. Further emphasizing the connection of immortality to divinity is the means by which The Octopus believes he can attain it for himself. I'll give you a hint: it comes in a vase, it's red, and it was probably drawn on Mt. Olympus. The blood of the gods, you say? Close. The blood of the son of a god. In the blood is the "missing link" and the only connection that can bridge the gap between man's mortality and the god's immortality. Hmmm, as ridiculous as its presentation is, this is starting to sound familiar. God, Jesus, us?

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