A look at the life and work of comic writer/artist Frank Miller.
Allowing that Miller's life needs several more hours to do it justice AMERICAN GENIUS is a film that will frustrate anyone who isn't aware of Miller and his work. Yes the film covers the arc of his life and hits most of the high points, and as a victory lap where is friends say nice things about him it's a glorious. This is as good a celebration as one could make of Miller and if that's what you want then you will love the film
If you want a film that tells a fair and accurate version of things, that really explores the darker subjects look elsewhere. Anything concerning some of the things that got him in trouble (say his politics) is not really here or brushed under the rug. Yes, this is a film made with Miller's consent, but at the same time we finally know where all the white paint went from the Sin City art.
The real problem here is that the film doesn't explain much of anything. You either know about Miller's work or you don't. We don't really know how Miller changed things up with Dark Knight and other work. We are simply told it changed things up, but why and how? We aren't told. What are the ground breaking stories he wrote that they reference?- if you haven't read or herd of them you won't know. We get no sense of the stories or what they mean in any context. Things like HOLY TERROR isn't explained, we simply know it came out of the rage from 9/11.
Yea, the film is entertaining thanks to all the stories and miller's personality but it isn't informative.
Worth seeing if you're a fan. A pass for anyone who hasn't read his work.
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