 |
Title: Sin City |
I have a confession to make. It is a confession I wish I didn't have to make, and one that will surely make many of you frown upon me, but I have to make this confession before I continue with the review.
...
Just give me a minute, this is a big one. *breaths in and out* Okay, here it is: I have never in my life read any of Frank Millers popular "Sin City" books. You guys stunned yet...or are you looking for a cross so that you can crucify me? Oh well, whatever you are thinking or doing (or thinking of doing), the truth of the matter is that I have never gotten around to reading "Sin City." I may love Frank Millers other books, and I may have been wanting to read them for a long time, but for some reason I have never gotten around to actually reading them, despite the fact that you are not a true comic book guru until you've read them. Well, I still haven't read the books, but now that I've seen the movie, maybe I'm just a tad bit closer to being a comic book guru. The "Sin City" movie, even without having read the books it's based off of, is brilliant and cool beyond anything I can say about it. So what is so cool about "Sin City?" I don't know, take your pick; the action, the style, the look, the ultra cool characters, the music, or, my personal favorite choice, every freaking thing about the movie in the first place. If there is one word that personifies the entire "Sin City" movie experience, then that one word is "cool." From the opening sequence with Josh Harnet and the girl in the red dress, to the final story about Bruce Willis facing off against the Yellow Basterd, every second the movie oozes with cool music, a cool look, cool characters, and cool, cool action.
I actually can't really describe the story to you guys, because there are actually several different stories taking place in this movie. From an outsider's point of view, it appears that Rodriguez has filmed several of Millers books, and has (loosely) tied them together in the best way he saw fit. So in a sense, there really isn't much story to describe without giving away most of the film. One thing I will say though is that the best story in the movie revolves around the Mickey Rourke segment of the film, where Rourke plays a thug named Marv, who is out to avenge the death of a hooker with a heart of gold. Rourke is big, strong, cool, and confident. He has this energy that lets you know that he is quite the badass, and his energy during the fight sequences with a just as cool (if not more creepy then usual) Elijah Wood, are exciting and suspenseful at the same time. While the Rourke sequence may be the most violent sequence in the entire movie, it is certainly the most interesting. The other story that is worth talking about is the Bruce Willis sequence, as his character is the one that both opens and closes the film, which just may make him the most important character in the movie. Willis's character is interesting, thoughtful, and no one can deliver melodramatic dialog like Bruce Willis can, and still keep a straight face.
In fact, it's amazing that the actors manage to deliver the dialog in the straight manner that they do. Not to knock on the dialog too much, but if you listened to some of the lines of dialog in this movie, and I mean really listened to them, you'd realize that most of the dialog is actually kind of cheesy and funny, and it no way should it be delivered this well. But the dialog, even the cheesy dialog, is delivered so straight that the dialog ends up working extremely well. It definitely reeks of some cheesiness, but I didn't realize it until after the film was over, and my pitiful attempts to re-create the dialog ended up making the movie sound sillier then it really was. Did I mention this film looks cool? I could go on about how most of this was filmed primarily on a green sound stage, and I guess I could talk about the technical aspects of the film, but I won't. Really, I won't. I know that whenever you look at great art you're supposed to point out the technical aspects so that you can appreciate the art itself that much more, but really, how they made the film really doesn't matter. At least, not with "Sin City" it doesn't. The film has such a look to it that is so cool, so original, so breathtaking, that I doubt you'd want to know how they made it. After all, if you know how they made it, you might not appreciate quite as much.
Chances are when the DVD comes out, I'll be actively going out of my way to avoid watching the "Making of" special features, as I really don't want to know how they made the movie. Out of all the reviews you'll read of "Sin City," mine will most likely seem the least spectacular. The reason for this may be that I was so completely blown away by the film, so surprised, that I want to tease you more then I want to explain why the movie rocks so much, just so that you'll want to see the movie for yourself. One thing I will say is that this is one of the very best comic book movies you'll ever see. It doesn't quite top "Spider-Man 2" in my opinion ("Spider-Man 2" had a slightly more coherent story), but it is definitely a feast for the eye's, an adrenalin rush, and just plain cool. One thing that should be noted though is that most women are not likely to care for this movie, as the movie is all about dirty cops, whores, and revenge. Not exactly date movie material, so you may want to save this movie for guys night out or something. Either way though, Robert Rodriguez has made his best movie to date, and now I can't wait to see future "Sin City" movies...or better yet, the books. In fact, I'm going to go buy the books now. What was I thinking in waiting so long to read them?
- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -