Movies

Sin City is based on Frank Miller's graphic novels by the same name. I have never read any of the books, but I like many others have now seen the movie.

An important point: Remember, you're watching an adaptation of a comic book. The things you see are not intended to be an accurate portrayal of things as we experience them in real life. Use your imagination and have fun watching Sin City.

I will try to give you a quick timeline of my thoughts throughout the movie, that should be the best approach to understanding this film a little more.

The opening credits roll and names flash on screen and all I can think is that this cast is amazing. Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Rutger Hauer, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Michael Clarke Duncan, Michael Madsen and Josh Hartnett are all cast members in Sin City.

The first scene flashes a woman in a brilliant, red dress with red lipstick set in a black and white film. Throughout the movie, this black and white film, creators highlighted certain objects in their full color. The effect was a stark contrast against the background which created for stunning aesthetics. The style is similar to that used in Chinatown.

The dialogue was cheesy and over-acted. I am pointing that out as a movie strength. It bothered me at first, then I realized what I was watching. Take a comic book in your hands and bend the tips of the pages with your hand and release them in rapid succession the way you would as a kid to see a series of pictures in animation. That is essentially what Sin City is, a moving comic book. If you have ever read one, you know the writing is often corny and overly dramatic, but it makes sense on paper. When read aloud it seems odd as it is not colloquial. This was not a difficult point to get past, and only added to the uniqueness of the film. Only a few times did I get flashbacks to years ago when I watched Dick Tracy.

The action was fun. Does that sound weird? It was though. Sure when guys would get hit they would fly further than humanly possible, but remember it is a comic book.

The story, for lack of a better term, revolves around your usual scenario of following a series of characters and showing important intersection points between their existence. The effect is four separate vignettes that comprise one story; they are different, though the same.

My favorite was the second, the one involving Marv (Rourke) in his search to find the man who killed Goldy (King), his beloved hooker.

My least favorite was the last, it seemed to serve only in making the movie longer. It was so slow and nearly made me fall asleep. In this one Hartigan (Willis) must confront the Yellow Bastard in his attempt to find Nancy, the young girl from his past.

The movie is over the top in gratuitous nudity and excessive blood and gore. The sound effects as bodies are dismembered, coupled with the rest may be a reason not to take your children to see Sin City. In no way was it too much for me. I rather enjoyed it.

The movie as a whole was good, not great. I think the experience of seeing a movie made in a mold not used often was more entertaining than the movie itself. See it to see it, nothing more. I do not anticipate seeing this movie again. I do not see any "rewatchability" potential in Sin City. Having seen it once is enough.

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