Sin City [DVD] [2005]

Sin City is one of those films that you see posters for, think it looks interesting but don't neccessarily get the point. At least, until you sit in the cinema and get to see the full glory.
That is the word for this film - glorious. Filmed with techniques and a style that haven't been used for a long time, Sin City presents three stories that, whilst not consecutive or concurrent, are nonetheless compelling. Each actor lived their character so deeply I could believe that this was all they ever were, who they had ever been. Despite the previous hits, both film and telelvision, spread between Willis, Owen, Rourke and Alba (as the easiest faces to identify), even my Sin City mad friend could see no one else when they went home to read the books!
This film is a rule breaker. The last film I saw that involved thought as an important feature of the script was Dune. As much as I love Frank Herbert's work, I was completely in awe of the way the three directors matched unspoken dialogue with fantastic colour technique to provide a thrilling, astounding vacation into a world that is both different and similar to that in which we live. Black and white filming is mostly restricted to flashbacks within any genre but here it is used to effect, making even the most bloody of scenes somehow softer.
I'm sorry to say I was not impressed with Kill Bill...yet Tarantino's scene was not only bloodless but hilarious. There is a wonderful amount of dark humour to be found within this delightful film - delightful as a study for media students, as the final pleasure for fans of the books and even for those who have never read them before. I am in the last catergory. And I can assure everyone, I loved this film so much I'll happily watch any others that are screened. (And thankfully, I hear more are planned)
If you're a fan, you've seen it all ready. If you're not and you like the difference in films, films that change the rules, that break them, then watch this film. It's worth renting at least once, just to be able to say you've seen a masterpiece.

It's rare that a comic book is successfully adapted into a movie. Although Road to Perdition and From Hell looked wonderful, both were interminably slow, whilst V for Vendetta managed to completely fail to get its message across in any kind of meaningful way. Unfortunately, Sin City fares little better.
Directed by Robert Rodriguez and adapted by Frank Miller from his own hard boiled and extremely graphic comic books, Sin City does have the honour of being the only comic book movie I can think of that is a total success when it comes to transferring the images of the comic book onto the big screen. Shot in extreme black and white, with only the occasionally flash of colour (a woman's red lipstick, a splash of blood, someone's blue eyes), this is without a doubt a visually arresting film. All of the backgrounds are total digital creations (never really that obvious except in a couple of scenes near the beginning of the film), and each shot genuinely looks like it has been lifted directly from the page, which in most cases it has, particularly in the very first of the three story arcs that make up the film.
To briefly sum up, the film provides us with three hard boiled tales based around Miller's individual stories (in this case the Hard Goodbye, the Big Fat Kill and that Yellow Bastard). In the first story psychotic thug Marv (a virtually unrecognisable Mickey Rourke, clearly having the time of his life), must track down the killer (or killers), of his beloved Goldie, a woman who he only spent one night with but who made him feel wanted again. In the second story, Dwight (Clive Owen) must put things right after his attempts to protect Shellie (Brittany Murphy) from the attentions of Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro) lead to murder and a potential war between the cops, the mob and the hookers of Old Town. And finally, on his last day on the job an ageing cop Hartigan (Bruce Willis) must save a little girl from the clutches of a bestial child killer whilst also dealing with corruption from his own side. Thrown in jail for his efforts, years later he has the chance to put things right. And the cast members mentioned so far is just scratching the surface, featuring as it does a virtual who's who of coolness, including Elijah Wood in a shockingly twisted role, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rosario Dawson, Nick Stahl, Michael Madsen, Nicky Katt, Rutger Hauer and Jessica Alba as Nancy. Seems that anyone who was anyone wanted to be connected with this movie.
As can be surmised from the plot points above, this is a film were every cliché is up there on the screen. The heroes are killers and thugs, the cops are heroic failures or dirty scumbags, and the women are hookers or strippers. Although it's not meant to be taken to seriously, and whilst this cliché ridden world works well within the confines of the source material, it works less well when transposed onto the big screen, and after a while this constant stream of movie character clichés does wear a bit thin. Coupled with the fact that almost everyone in the movie talks in big fat clichés (again, not a problem in the comic books, but heavy on the ears after a while in the film), it does grate after a while. Still, the film works as a visual feast, and the initial tale alone featuring Marv is worth watching the film for, but this is not the unqualified success that many other reviewers seem to think it is.

This is one of the most striking, memorable, imaginative and violent films to have come out in a long, long time. It is a cliched ridden flick where nothing is taken too seriously - especially life - and where anything goes.

Expect to meet hookers, mercenaries, hit men, good cops, bad cops, strippers and thugs in Sin City. This tells three stories, that are ingeniously subtley linked together.

The most interesting story is Bruce Willis' as Hartigan. A cop who protected a little girl when she was younger, and in a cruel twist of fate has to protect her again when she is older (and played by Jessica Alba). It's the most detailed story, with the best character development.

The best character, however, is Mickey Rourke's Marv. A tough, unbeatable and ugly man who is out to avenge the death of a hooker who gave him things he had never dreamed of. It's a slightly simple story, but it's effective, violent, and unlike the other stories in the film, filled with dark humour.

Clive Owen is the weakest main character. He plays Dwight with a lot of gusto, but the character doesn't have the same heart that the others does, as he tries to stop Benicio Del Toro's troublemaker. This story also includes the infamous scene directed by Quentin Tarantino, where Dwights dead body starts talking again. There's nothing wrong with Tarantino, he's a great director, but in Sin City, his scene feels out of place. It doesn't flow with the rest of the film, and jars you out of the mood. It still is an interesting scene, however.

Of course, there are also some brilliant baddies. Elijah Wood's cannibal is creepy, while Nick Stahl relishes in the dirtyness of Yellow B######.

This DVD is sadly lacking in the extras department. the menu system looks gorgeous, and is great fun to watch, but the there is only an 8-minute behind the scenes that doesn't really reveal anything and only just scratches the surface. If you want extras, wait for the special edition that is rumoured to be coming soon.

But Sin City is a film worth seeing, extras or not. It's stylised violence, splashes of colour, and gritty noir is mesmerising, and is a truly unique experience in film.