|
Movie Review - Sin City (2005)
|
|
|
|
|
(What this rating means)
|
|
| |
|
| Director: |
Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez |
| Starring: |
Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy, and about
48 other people |
| Rated: |
R (for sustained strong stylized violence, nudity and sexual content including dialogue)
|
| Length: |
126 minutes |
| Genre: |
Crime/Comic Book |
| Tagline: |
Walk down the right back alley in Sin City and you can find anything. |
| Studio: |
Dimension |
| Website: |
Sin City |
| Release: |
April 1, 2005 |
|
PLOT
|
Based on three of Frank Miller's graphic novels, Sin City tells the stories of three different anti-heroes
seeking revenge against bad guys who have even less redeeming qualities than they do. One of the most
stylish-looking movies to come along in quite a while ensues.
|
|
JOHNNY'S TAKE
|
Look, you've heard fanboy after fanboy gush over Sin City, so the last thing you need is for me to drool all
over it as well. Everything you heard praising the look and style is accurate. This should definitely serve as
the blueprint for what a comic book/graphic novel of this style should look like on screen. You totally feel
immersed in a comic book world. Some people will love it, but there are also elements of this that will turn
others off.
For example, the violence is quite over-the-top. Certainly you wouldn't want to allow a child to see this, but this
isn't the kind of violence that bothers me. It's cartoonish. Video gamish. Comic bookish. Insert your own
adjective ending in "ish." If violence doesn't look real then it usually doesn't bother me. I can
handle this kind of gore any day over some of the surgeries you see on those Discovery Channel shows. A dude's
decapitated head talks? No problem, just please don't make me watch somebody's thigh skin get pulled back during
a knee operation.
I've also heard some people complain about the fact that rather than relying on dialogue, a lot of the story is
pushed through the main character's narration. I can understand that complaint, but I felt it worked within the
context of the movie. Yes, a lot of it is overwrought, but it's intentionally so. Prepare to sit through narrative
such as, "She was cold and shook like the leaves of a dying elm tree in the middle of winter." I made most of
that up, but you get the point. Some of it is laughable, but welcome to the world of graphic novels.
Anybody who complains that this is a perfect example of "style over substance" definitely has a point. The main
problem for me is when you try to combine three stories into one like this, there isn't much room for character
development, and there is bound to be a lag in the storytelling. I didn't feel it always flowed as smoothly as
it should have. The three stories didn't intersect as completely as I was expecting. I never got confused,
but I just feel it would've been more effective if all three stories had a stronger connection. The DVD should
be interesting though because I've read that you'll be able to view each section separately and new footage will
be added back in. Robert Rodriguez admits that a lot of footage had to be cut in order to fit everything into
one movie.
The problem with that is when you don't allow your characters and story to be fleshed out, then you're bound to
be accused of being nothing more than a pretty face. I still enjoyed the stories, but I just wish that it had
felt like one story with three main parts rather than one movie with three different stories.
|
|
ODDS & ENDS
|
- Robert Rodriguez scored Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) for $1. Quentin Tarantino said he would repay
him by directing a segment of this movie for $1.
- The segment Quentin directed was when Clive Owen was having a conversation with Benicio Del Toro in
the car.
- The movie was filmed completely with all the acting shot in front of a green screen and the backgrounds
added during post-production.
- Originally, the film was going to include another story featured in the Sin City maxi-series
with Johnny Depp in the lead role as Wallace. Rodriguez says he plans to eventually film all of Miller's
stories, so this may be in a sequel.
- Leonardo DiCaprio was originally up for Nick Stahl's role but eventually declined it.
- Michael Douglas was reportedly offered a role but turned it down. Must have had something to do with
being a really old man.
- Kate Bosworth was the first choice for the role of Gail, which went to Rosario Dawson.
- Jessica Alba is in the upcoming Into the Blue with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man
with Kevin Bacon.
|
|
MAMA'S APPROVAL
|
No way. Profanity isn't all that bad, but there is some nudity, lots of thongs, a whole lot of violence, and
very few characters with morally redeeming values.
|
|
TRAILER COMPARISON
|
The trailer definitely shows you what to expect as far as the look of the film goes, but it might not adequately
prepare you for the amount of violence and prostitutes in thongs that you're about to witness.
|
|
THE GIST
|
Sin City didn't exactly hit a homerun with me, but I enjoyed it. It's definitely one of the most
original-looking movies to come along in quite a while. I liked watching the characters perform outlandish
feats that can only be pulled off in the comic book and movie worlds. But this isn't for everybody. If you're
easily offended then by all means you should definitely stay home. If you're under 17, then you definitely wouldn't
be seeing this if you were my kid. And if you have a problem with watching a movie where the "good guys" are
nearly as corrupt as the bad guys, save for a redeeming act or two, then the questionable morals of the Sin
City world probably aren't for you.
|
|
