Sin City
3.5/4
Starring: Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson, Powers Boothe, Nick Stahl, Jessica Alba, Devin Aoki, Elijah Wood, Carla Gugino, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Madsen, Alexis Bledel
Rated R for Sustained Strong Stylized Violence, Nudity and Sexual Content including Dialogue
More than anything else, "Sin City" is a comic book brought to life. Oh sure, comic books are slapped onto film as fast as Hollywood can buy the rights. But never before, or since, has there been a comic book movie like this. Directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller (who authored the comics upon which the film is based) used the comic panels as storyboards.
The film tells three stories: two in the middle that are squeezed in the middle of a third. The first (and last) involves Hartigan (Willis), a cop with a bad heart on the verge of retirement. Before he turns in his badge at the end of his shift, he wants to close one last case: the son of a powerful senator has a habit of kidnapping and raping young girls. Just as he is closing in, he is betrayed by his partner (Madsen). Next up is Marv (Rourke in his comeback role), who wakes up from a bender next to a dead hooker. Since Goldie (King), as she was named, was the only person in a long while to be nice to him, he decides to get revenge, come hell or high water. The fact that he was framed only encourages him. Finally, there's Dwight (Owen), who inadvertently starts a turf war between the cops and the hookers of Old Town after he saves a waitress from her sleazy boyfriend (played with over-the-top malice by Del Toro).
Needless to say, these aren't pleasant people. And they're not the only ones. You've got a corrupt senator (Boothe), a powerful and corrupt Cardinal (Rutger Hauer), a sexy lesbian parole officer (Gugino, who clearly has no qualms about appearing on screen sans clothing), a 19 year old stripper (Alba, who, unlike Gugino, does not appear without clothing), a creepy cannibal (Wood), and a hooker who has a love of all things sharp and shiny (Aoki).
The film's biggest strength is its visual sense. It looks exactly like a moving graphic novel. It has the same visual and storytelling sensibilities, and the movements of the characters and their surroundings are slightly animated (I think). In movies like "Sherlock Holmes," this adds a cheese factor. Here, it makes them seem more like comics come to life. It's literally a feast for the eyes. But not the stomach. This film is extremely violent to the point where an NC-17 would have been appropriate.
Directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller have absolute control over the material. The only flaws are that the acting by Alba, Bledel and King is a little stiff, and the visual effects aren't convincing in one brief clip and the final scene. Still, this is a great rush of adrenaline and testosterone. Definitely can't wait for the sequel.
Starring: Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson, Powers Boothe, Nick Stahl, Jessica Alba, Devin Aoki, Elijah Wood, Carla Gugino, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Madsen, Alexis Bledel
Rated R for Sustained Strong Stylized Violence, Nudity and Sexual Content including Dialogue
More than anything else, "Sin City" is a comic book brought to life. Oh sure, comic books are slapped onto film as fast as Hollywood can buy the rights. But never before, or since, has there been a comic book movie like this. Directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller (who authored the comics upon which the film is based) used the comic panels as storyboards.
The film tells three stories: two in the middle that are squeezed in the middle of a third. The first (and last) involves Hartigan (Willis), a cop with a bad heart on the verge of retirement. Before he turns in his badge at the end of his shift, he wants to close one last case: the son of a powerful senator has a habit of kidnapping and raping young girls. Just as he is closing in, he is betrayed by his partner (Madsen). Next up is Marv (Rourke in his comeback role), who wakes up from a bender next to a dead hooker. Since Goldie (King), as she was named, was the only person in a long while to be nice to him, he decides to get revenge, come hell or high water. The fact that he was framed only encourages him. Finally, there's Dwight (Owen), who inadvertently starts a turf war between the cops and the hookers of Old Town after he saves a waitress from her sleazy boyfriend (played with over-the-top malice by Del Toro).
Needless to say, these aren't pleasant people. And they're not the only ones. You've got a corrupt senator (Boothe), a powerful and corrupt Cardinal (Rutger Hauer), a sexy lesbian parole officer (Gugino, who clearly has no qualms about appearing on screen sans clothing), a 19 year old stripper (Alba, who, unlike Gugino, does not appear without clothing), a creepy cannibal (Wood), and a hooker who has a love of all things sharp and shiny (Aoki).
The film's biggest strength is its visual sense. It looks exactly like a moving graphic novel. It has the same visual and storytelling sensibilities, and the movements of the characters and their surroundings are slightly animated (I think). In movies like "Sherlock Holmes," this adds a cheese factor. Here, it makes them seem more like comics come to life. It's literally a feast for the eyes. But not the stomach. This film is extremely violent to the point where an NC-17 would have been appropriate.
Directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller have absolute control over the material. The only flaws are that the acting by Alba, Bledel and King is a little stiff, and the visual effects aren't convincing in one brief clip and the final scene. Still, this is a great rush of adrenaline and testosterone. Definitely can't wait for the sequel.
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