Sin City has been hyped to the hilt. The enthusiasm and the furore around it was perhaps matched by that of Tarantino’s other flick, Kill Bill. I just don’t understand the hype about Kill Bill, perhaps because I have yet to watch it sober, but it bored me to death in a narcotic state to the point I fell asleep and woke up to tell my friend that I liked it.
With Sin City, Rodriguez mains the helm and Tarantino guest directs, alongside the original man ehind Sin City, Frank Miller. The three have managed to create an interest mix of French film noir, with the American thirst for violence and bravado. There are several stories in Sin City, much like Pulp Fiction, in which characters appear and reappear in different segments, but with each segment have it’s own key story and characters.
A short segment starts and ends the film, with Josh Hartnett starring as a suave and elegant gentleman of a hitman, known as The Man. He exudes class, and demonstrates his ability to actually act by delivering his lines with the sort of cool you thought was dead since the likes of Bogart. It’s smartly done, short and to the point. He’s no Bogart, but they do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,
The first tale starts the film and ends it with the main story, involving Bruce Willis and Jessica Alba as Hartigan and Nancy respectively. Nancy is 8 years old, and has been kidnapped by a serial rapist and murderer. Hartigan is the cop who’s been on the trail of the killer who happens to the be the son of the corrupt Senator. He’ll even beat his partner, Michael Madson, in order to make things right, being hot headed and never willing to give in.
Mickey Rourke may finally be making a come back, though it’s hard to say, but his performance as Marv in the second segement, as the down and out on his luck brute with a face like a worn rock is pretty solid. Bold, animal-like and cold blooded, he’s out to get revenge on for the girl that died in his bed, named Goldie. Framed for her death, he intends to get to the truth, even if it kills him. Rourke is supported by Carla Gugino as Lucille, and Elijah Wood as Kevin – the latter being a psychotic killer, ordered by the head of the cloth Cardinal Rourke, played by Rutger Hauer, to do the killing.
Benico Del Toro, Clive Owen and Rosario Dawson supported by Devon Aoki and Brittany Murphy in the third segment about a corrupt cop Rafferty (Del Toro) being taken out by Gail (dawson) and Meho (Aoki) which breaks a truce about killing cops in Old Town where the girl resides, causing a possible all out war that would benefit the pimps, hustlers and corruptors who want to take over Old Town. So begins an escapade of chase and chase, as well as eliminate the enemy in a rather simple bloodbath. It’s perhaps the least interesting of the segments.
The film’s final segment continues where we left off Hartigan at the start, but time has moved on, it’s 8 years since and Hartigan has been framed, and Nancy may be in danger, who’s now 19 years old. The only way Hartigan can get out is to cut a deal that will disgrace him and end up with him as lonesome as Marv.
I’m going out on a limb to say that this film did nothing for me as it has done for others. Sure it was entertaining, but it wasn’t special. He feels a case of exuberant style over substance, hype & illusion over reality. It’s not a bad film, but this is the incredible piece of cinema that I was expecting, or told to expect. I can undestand why this film was received so well, everything else at the moment coming out Bowelmovementwood is so mundane and devoid of substance that anything that demonstrates the mere illusion would be help with open arms.
When Max Payne, the game from Remedy, appeared many stated that the cutscenes and the acting was close to hammy and often wreaked of cringe worthy cheesiness. The same is true of Sin City. Some of the dialogue is just unbelievably dairy-like, and I’m surprised it’s actually be credited with being “amazing” and “superb”. I wouldn’t go quite that far. The performances are pretty good all round, but these are not the best performances we’ve seen from the veterans of this film, these roles are well below their standard and their ability. Here they suffice the characters, who are really empty and shallow in truth, and it seems that it may be a calling card for Rourke, who has really not had a chance to play a lead role for quite some time.
It is fantastically close to the comics from Miller, and the casting is a stroke of genius, but the stories themselves are a bit hollow and lack any real bite or substance. There’s violence in the film, but it’s so tame and underwhelming that the scenes that are meant to shock, if any, fail to do so. The violence isn’t really interesting, or entertaining, and felt laboured and dull. Just because it is as close to a comic as it can be, doesn’t make the film better for it.
I guess my biggest disappointment is that the film manages to do everything right visually and offers something a little bit different, even so, spot colour on black & white is hardly what you’d call pushing the envelope. Film noir began in black & white and never needed clever spot effects to add substance to the film, not that they could anyway, with the story being the driving force behind what made the film. But the film never attempts to push the envelope, it does not offer anything new really, and the story is simply derivative. How can you commend a film for being unoriginal even if it’s true to the comic.
There’s nudity, there’s violence, and there some discernible plot but only just. Being direct translations from comic to film, there’s no strong story, no soul and no character to the characters. Things start to slowly become repetitive and almost confused in the goal. In all there seems to have been little trouble in turning the comic into a film, but if only they had a plot, and some life in what is a very emotionless journey of monotonous violence without purpose.
In the end Sin City is a very Well directed film, with a good pace, some decent performances but it;s let down with a weak core of a plot (if you can even call it that) that offers nothing new or groundbreaking. It’s film noir but without the class or sophistication, a thriller but without the thrills or tension, and violence but with kid gloves and a lollipop.
The film lacks a centre, but it has a lot of visual tricks. If that’s what you’re after, this will be your ticket to entertainment. If like me you want a film that has the intention to push the barries of film making, and grab you by the balls and make you sit up and take notice, then you will be bored by this and you’re better off finding your kicks elsewhere. There’s a feast of beautiful women, and some moderate and hilariously weak violence, but in the end it seems to be a teenage boys wet dream of what a film would be: tits, ass, guns, blood and no soul. Perhaps Hollywood will start making films with life, rather than this superficial industrial waste.
Verdict: Another hypefantastic film that pushes style over substance, and gets away with murder. Desperately average, and far too overrated by an audience starving of good films