review: Sin City

I just got back from the 12:01AM showing of Sin City, and it was well worth the effort. In a sentence, this was the Pulp Fiction of comic book movies, and I imagine many knock-off films will follow this flick as well. Don’t be mistaken, if you’re not into gratuitous violence and scantily clad women, this movie is not for you.

First, the visual style of the film captures the much of the impact of Frank Miller’s original graphic novels, and the effect is lush and compelling. Viewers who are drawn in by the visuals will not be disappointed, as the effect plays well throughout the movies 100 minute runtime. Much like Pulp Fiction, Sin City is presented as a series of related story vignettes, oddly the resulting narrative seems to move somewhat more slowly than that 100 minutes would imply. Perhaps contributing to the leisurely pace is the voiceover narration presented by the main characters; the effect plays very much like the narrative side text of comic books, and keeps the viewer firmly sided with the “good guy”. (Note: the concept of a good guy in Sin City is a decidedly subjective judgement). Fans of the comic book will There’s a lot to like in Sin City, hard-bitten actors, lovely ladies, casual violence, but there’s more things keeping this movie from being a hit with mainstream moviegoers.

The first few minutes are peppered with needless topless shots of (admittedly beautiful) women, but this seems to be used to . And while the action eventually gets fast and furious, there’s a gradual build to a crescendo of guns and mayhem that may put off some viewers. When the violence does peak, it keeps itself firmly rooted in comic book stylized gore that is more humorous than appalling, which may appease some and frustrate others. If there’s one thing going for Sin City is Frank Miller’s plots twist and turn and keep the proceedings interesting as well as entertaining. Unfortunatly, the dialog is typical comic book fare, and suffers from hackneyed turns of phrase and over the top melodrama — resulting in the occasional unintended laugh from the spectators. Along with the clichéd dialog, we have the traditional two-dimensional comic book characterizations — with only a few notable exceptions. Clive Owen and Micky Roukre do more than one might imagine with their respective parts, and Bruce Willis soldiers bravely with his somewhat one-dimensional character. Of the bevy of beautiful actresses gracing this movie, stand-out performances are somewhat harder to come by with Rosario Dawson and Alexis Bledel both doing wonderful jobs.

To paraphrase my friend Kevin, who once commented about my movie going habits, “He is as likely to come home with teenage-romantic-comedy-nonsense as German Expessionism, and relish both (on the same night)!” Living up to my billing, I really enjoyed Sin City, flaws and all. Fans of the books will have no problems shelling out for the experience, but those with young children, an aversion to comic book conversions, or not interested in Tarantino-esqe — not only do his films influence Sin City, but he guest directs — movies are best advised to stir clear.