Could they do The Spirit seriously

Well, I've never read the book, but I assumed after seeing this movie that the book was corny too, no? And so therefore doing it "seriously" would be unfaithful to the original.

True it could.

I think the problem is that it wants to be both, it wants to be a noir action movie and also a cheesy comedy.

Or how about just a far better adaptation regardless of its tone? (Obvs it needs to find the right tone, though.) It’s very possible. I’ll wait for the day it comes — and my money’s on a tv series.

They could had made a more serious movie with some humor in it. Sin City is a gruesome, violent ballet of depravity. But it's also surprisingly funny at times. But Sin City and its sequel are still noir crime films at heart. The problem with the Spirit is that it wants to be a noir crime film but also a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Sam Jackson killed this movie, and not in a good way. It was as much the script as it was the actor. I actually don’t like Jackson (‘WAY past his sell-buy date, like Tom
Hanks), but I felt sorry for him having to say the lines they handed him.