Sin City
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Movie Reviews of Sin City
Movie Review: It succeeds in presenting and commenting on the genre of film noir
Summary: 5 Stars
One way that this film does this is by digitally affecting the film by providing it with unnatural color schemes that are identical to the ones in the graphic novels. Now, the reality of the movie/genre/graphic novels, is a kind of hyper realism that doesn't feel realistic (this is fictional after all) although you know that some of the things that happen in the movie could happen and the film plays with these conventions well. Noir is a genre that takes the audience into the mind of an everyday person and shows how they can be corrupted by sin, but still being a conflicted and basically good until their sin is found out and they're destoyed. Well, in this movie there aren't many of these characters, most of them are sinners and gladly and accept the consequences indefinitely. This is where the movie is the most interesting in the way that the color scheme both allows the action to go to extremes and get away with it because it presents an unreality and if you choose to view the perspective of the movie/graphic novel as the dream world of gritty noir characters than you have a good idea of what the film is like. What's unexpected are how many portions of this film are so darkly humorous like when Benicio Del Toro's character is being drowned in the toilet by Clive Owen, it's completely unrealistic and we laugh at his plight because he deserves it and will do anything to get out of it, anything short of apologizing and backing off. Yes, although this color scheme helps the film get past its aggressive, super-violent and gruesome content that doesn't mean you don't feel the effects of it. They are still there, but you are always aware of the unreality and that somewhat deadens the effect and probably likens your reaction to the way the characters feel. I felt the movie was as true to the graphic novels as possible even going as far as to call the movie plagiarism (That would be if Frank Miller weren't as involved as he is). The movie is brilliant, if viscerally so, but although it is based on a graphic novel and anything slightly animated is bound to attract kids, this film is anything, but for kids. I've mentioned the violent content without going into the more bloody details, but the sex is just as present and I'm not sure this dreamworld is one that you want your kids to know about yet, at least until they're older and have a better understanding of classic film noir, because as I said before this is a tribute and at the same time it's an update of the genre. Enjoy at your own risk. By the way, I just have to give a shout out to Mickey Rourke who put in a great performance. It's so big that it's almost too much for the rest of this film to stand up to. I'm glad to see that he can still be used to great effect in films.Movie Review: Dark, cryptic, disturbing, and absolutely brilliant.
Summary: 5 Stars
I very rarely write movie reviews, mainly because I'm not that good at it, but I have to make an exception for this one. "Sin City" is by far one of the most creative and stunningly well-made movies I've seen in quite some time. I got the same feeling from watching it as I did "Kill Bill", in that I couldn't believe what I was seeing, and couldn't stop thinking about it for days afterward, simply because it's so freaking good.
First of all, there's the cinematography, which is just unbelievable. The whole movie was filmed in a studio here in Austin, and nearly everything but the characters is digitally inserted. They used basically no set for the whole thing, but everything looks so real (in a surreal kind of way). And, the use of color is just brilliant. The movie is mostly black and white, but other colors are sporadically thrown in for emphasis, and to brilliant effect. The flashes of red blood, the cold, murderous stare of Elijah Wood, Alexis Bledel's gorgeous blue eyes, the vivid, um yellowness of the Yellow Bastard, all are brought out wonderfully amidst a black and white world.
Now, just the special effects alone are enough to make this an entertaining movie, but it doesn't stop there. The performances are all great as well. I've never cared much for Mickey Rourke, but he does a spectactular job as the relentlessly vindictive Marv. Bruce Willis has long shed his action hero image, for which he was once well-known, but here, he returns to that style with a vengeance (no "Die Hard" pun intended) as the hard-boiled Detective Hardigan. Elijah Wood is just amazing as the silent but deadly Kevin, and of course we have Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba, Alexis Bledel, and many other lovely women with sedutive and memorable roles (I wish I'd known when they were filming this; so many girls I could have hit on ;).
I don't want to reveal too much about the story, but basically it consists of several smaller stories, that all weave together into one larger plot. The constant shifting of main characters, and the voice-over narrations of each one help to keep things interesting, and to demand your attention. Much like "Kill Bill", it sort of skips around chronologically, but I think the story is initially much easier to follow overall. And, like "Kill Bill", there's a lot of graphic, over-the-top violence, but the black and white sort of helps to dull it over a bit, so it doesn't really seem quite as gory as it is.
Anyway, this is a fantastic movie that any fan of excellent cinema should see. Robert Rodriguez has said that he wants to make movies of the entire "Sin City" series (and Johnny Depp is even slated to be in one), so I greatly look forward to the next installment.
Movie Review: A Faithful Adaptation Of A Great Comic
Summary: 5 Stars
This DVD contains an interview with Frank Miller where he states that his reaction to the very idea of a `Sin City' movie was the same as mine, "Sacrilege! This cannot be happening! Why does Hollywood want to destroy the name of another good comic book?"
But `Sin City' is not a good comic book, it's the best there is. (A least in the genre of action.) I was very pleasantly proven wrong by `Sin City' the film. Frank Miller directs an amazing adaptation of his stories that is sure to please fans of the comic book, and normal people too.
Why it works: The key reason why `Sin City' works is that it is amazingly faithful to the comic, almost word-for-word. I still remember those classic lines 13 years later. The film is an anthology of `Sin City's 3 best stories, the original `Sin City' from `DHP', `Sin City: The Big Fat Kill', and `Sin City: The Yellow Bastard'. The film is even faithful in that it contains surprisingly little profanity for an R rated action movie, because as fans know Miller rarely uses profanity. Really the only unfaithful thing is the absence of Miller's racial slurs.
Well cast: The trailers boast an all-star cast of Hollywood's A list. While normally I sense dread with an "all star cast" as a sign of making up for a lack of good characters, here they were very well cast. Clive Owen probably stands out the best as Dwight (even though he can't shed his accent). I really felt the actors portrayed the characters of `Sin City' faithfully. And my fears that bigger stars' characters may be given larger roles was unfounded.
Eye Candy: Just like the comic the film is non stop orgy of visually stunning eye candy. Making you say, "Wow look at that!"
My last fear was that the trailers boasted "Directed by Robert Rodriguez." Films directed by Robert Rodriguez are bad. Films that boast they are directed by Rodriguez are even worse. Let me calm your fears. Rodriguez clearly had no greater role in the production of this film than the bestboy. I'm sure that will anger Rodriguez's loyal fans but too bad. You can't tell me the director of `Spy Kids' made this masterpiece.
It's good to see this film generating interest in the under valued medium of comic books. Normal people I know who wouldn't pick up a comic book if their lives depended on it are asking, "Can I borrow the `Sin City' comics from you?"
So in conclusion, whether you own every Frank Miller comic ever written or think `Sin City' is a computer video game, you will love this film for its great characters, intense plots, and dazzling eye candy.
Movie Review: A Spectacular Modern Noir
Summary: 5 Stars
There has certainly been no shortage of comic book movies lately. From "Spider-Man" to "X-Men", for one reason or another, it just seems to be the current craze. Most of the films in this group are nothing but pointless Hollywood garbage full of drawn-out action sequences and cheesy dialogue. However, there are those select few that stand out. "Sin City" is one film does just about everything but get lost in the crowd.
The film, based on the graphic novels by Frank Miller, follows three stories. One is about Hartigan (Willis), a cop with a "bum ticker" on the verge of retirement who rescues a little girl from a rapist with political ties (Stahl); one is about Marv (Rourke), an odd-looking man searching for the killer of his "true love", Goldie (King), a prostitute who slept with him and "was nice to him" - something no other woman had ever done; and the other is about Dwight (Owen), a man who aids a group of prostitutes in the murder of several men, which sends Old Town (a city run by prostitutes) into a war. And this is all tied together by several elements, including a prostitute waitress (Murphy) and a cannibalistic serial killer (Wood).
By now you've probably realized that "Sin City" isn't exactly a cookie-cutter PG-13 comic book movie, due to all the prostitutes, murder, and what-not. In fact, it's a violent pop-culture celebration, featuring one of the most remarkable casts in ages and being directed by Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, and Frank Miller himself.
The film's visual element is undeniably fantastic, as it remains strikingly faithful to Miller's graphic novels. Using a gorgeous mix of black and white and strategically placed color, the film creates an atmosphere reminiscent of the classic noir films of the '30s and '40s while still maintaining a distinctly modern feel, and also moves at a deliberate pace, as it is loaded with snappy dialogue, clever editing, and over-the-top violence.
The film's only real flaw is its hit-and-miss acting, but I guess this may have been done somewhat on purpose, perhaps to further enforce the comic book element? Maybe, but I doubt it.
But that aside, "Sin City" is a truly great, original film that screams for numerous sequels, as it seems like it just has so much more to show us. It almost feels like this film is just an appetizer. Let's hope Rodriguez doesn't destroy the sequels to this wonderful instant classic, which is arguably the best comic book-to-film adaptation ever made.
9/10
Movie Review: This generation's Road warrior
Summary: 5 Stars
My prediction: Sin City will become the Road Warrior of the next 10 years. That movie also was considered a bit cultish on its release and wasn't a huge theatrical success. But through word of mouth it became one of the most popular films among young and youngish males. Sin City will do the same.
This movie brings to life what comic books really feel like in the mind of the reader (albeit a comic book directed at young male adults). Clearly the direct involvement of Frank Miller (author of the comic books) played a key role in the success, although I couldn't imagine a better choice for director than Robert Rodriguez.
All of the stories are interesting and visually compelling, but very violent. To me, though, the violence was not disturbing because it was delivered in a highly stylized manner. It's impossible to explain the look and feel of the film because there's no precedent. It succeeds (and then some) at what "The Crow" only hinted at. Key to the success is that they didn't try to make this believable in a real world context. There's a license to create a world that could only exist in comic books and that license is fully utilized. The way people talk and act and the look of the world they live in is disturbingly unreal and that's as it should be, it's based on a comic book after all. There's no attempt, as in so many other comic book adaptations (Spiderman, X-Men, etc.), to make it appear that this is the real world and comic book characters just happen to inhabit our world. I like that.
The stunner for me was Mickey Rourke in the opening of three loosely connected stories. In this performance, Rourke does not appear to be an actor giving an impression of a character in a comic book world. He makes us feel like a window has been opened and we are watching someone who lives in that world. A truly stunning performance.
This film no doubt has many detractors who aggravate over excessive violence, misogyny, etc. These people don't get it and should stay away from a film like this in the first place. Sin City is making no attempt to please everybody. To me it's refreshing that someone took a risk instead of making movies by polls and committee, which is how so many awful movies get realized. I can't guarantee that you'll love this movie. But I can pretty much guarantee that, if you read all the reviews and know what to expect going in, and you still decide to go ahead, then you will love this.