WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOLLOW
The movies that portray Frank Millar's graphic novels always seem to have some kind of artistic aesthetic to them. Special effects don't begin to describe any of the film adaptations of his graphic novels, one of which being Sin City. So is there more to this film than a neat art tricks?
Sin City isn't actually just one story, but three. Part 1 is about cop Hartigan (Willis) tracking down and protecting Nancy (Alba) from a rapist; Part 2 involves Marv (Rourke) on a mission to kill the man that murdered his once lover Blondie, and Part three follows Dwight (Owens) as he tries to stop a man from killing women, all of which happens within the same time period and in Sin City. Rape, violence, and blood. Everything a movie needs.
The first thing you'll notice about this movie is that it is a film noir, meaning shot in black and white. The majority of the film is shot like this, with only certain objects are in colour to show importance (such as a red car). The black and white works well, especially since the source material used similar artwork. Along with excellent usage of lighting, the overall impression is like looking at a comic book come to life, and it really does look great.
Unfortunately, the awesome visuals come at a price. Some of the action scenes are so obscure and wacky, that I feel like I'm watching a Loony Tunes cartoon. People absorb bullets like punches, get run over by cars without dying, and things that I can't even go into. Let's just say that when I saw the "R" rating on the back of the box, I thought it was an exageration (Hint: It's not).I don't care whether it's a comic book movie or not; If you fly twenty feet in the air after getting rammed by a car and come out fine, it breaks the immersion.
Another thing that hurts this movie is the characters. All the actors do an all right job (and Alba does look pretty fine with a lasso), but the script and tone of the movie hardly allowed for any outstanding performances. The women in the movie were a bit better, as their characters showed a lot more flair then the men, but overall the characters seemed to lack luster. And how could this happen? They have plenty of big names in this film: Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, and even Elijah Wood! Yet I hardly saw any actual attempts at bringing out their full potential. Everyone just talked in monotone, making dialouge stretch out. The one thing I did like was the narrative given by the major characters, which acted as thought bubbles (like in the comics) throughout the movie. These "thought bubbles" were actually more interesting than the actual dialouge, and it made the movie easier to get into.
The action in this flick is okay, which is surprising to say, considering some of the epic scenes in Frank Millar's other film 300. There was nothing really outstanding, and even when there was, it was just flat out ridiculous (a gun chamber lodged into a guy's forehead? yea...). Of course, when people are soaking up bullets, jumping flights of stairs, and yellow bastards roam the streets, it's easy to guess that the movie isn't supposed to be taken too seriously, so maybe I'm being too harsh.
(seen above: Intermission time)
To put it lightly, Sin City is senseless, comic book fun. The black/white effects look fantastic, and the narrative thoughts give the character's depth. However, the over-the-top violence seemed a bit silly, the characters lacked any emotion when interacting with eachother, and nothing really impressed me other than the visuals. I can see why others would enjoy it: it's mindless fun that had the potential to be truly fantastic. Maybe in the future I'll rewatch it and really like it, but for now it just isn't my thing.
Rating: 3/5