in General, Reviews

City of Sin

Product Image: Sin City (2005)
My rating: 5 out of 5

Sin City… wow. I’m not even sure where to start.

I’ve cut down on my reviews recently, they’re not really my focus anymore. But this movie needs to be written about.

It’s got action, character, plot twists, humor, violence, pretty much anything you can think of. But most of all, a jaw-dropping visual style. The movie looks like a comic book on the screen. Some shots I could point you to the exact panel of Frank Miller’s graphic novels that its based on (and that’s a good thing). This has to be the most faithful adaptation yet.

And the cast! Everybody is cast perfectly, even when going ‘against type’. Elijah Wood as a psychotic serial killer, for example. He never says a single word, but still manages to sell the role.

Out of the three main stories, I think I enjoyed the scenes from That Yellow Bastard. Bruce Willis’ Hartigan is the most noble, do-the-right-thing guy you’ll ever meet. One of the few truly likeable people in Sin City actually. He has the worst possible bad luck, but still comes out standing up. I don’t want to spoil it any more than that for you.

Jessica Alba surprised me. I’ve never seen much she’s been in, but she’s got some decent acting chops here. Confident stripper one scene, scared little girl the next.

I can’t let the review end without commenting on the violence. There’s a lot of it, to put it lightly. But its done so artfully in the black and white world – glowing white pools of blood slowly seep out of the shadows – that you can’t help but be mesmerized. It’s art, pure and simple.

I’ll be interested to see how Sin City does at the box office. It was sold out where we went, but of course it would be on opening weekend. I don’t think its a movie for the general public. It’s wonderful, but I don’t see Joe From The Street appreciating it.

If I have any real complaint, its that at some times I felt lost. Viewers are thrown into the middle of a story right off the bat. Having read the comics I could jump in feet first, but without that foreknowledge it might have taken me a bit to catch up. I meant to ask the people I saw it with afterwards, but forgot. There’s a lot going on, Sin City is a very complex movie. But definitely worth your time.

Movies are so expensive around here that I just can’t justify going to the theater very often. But Sin City is an exception I’m glad I made.