Movie Review – Sin City (B+)

This is one hell of a movie.

Maybe I should clarify that. This is one of the most violent, grim, twisted movies I’ve seen in quite a while. Its characters are warped beyond humanity, broken beyond repair, and desperate beyond hope. Bullets fly, blood flows, and the severed limbs pile up in the causes of revenge, justice, greed, betrayal, or maniacal psychosis. Do not, under any circumstances, take your mother to see this movie.

But it is still one hell of a movie. Mom, I’m sorry. I know, why would a son like me enjoy the movie described by the above paragraph? Because it is just so freaking cool, and sometimes that’s all a movie has to be.

“Sin City” is based on the series of graphic novels by Frank Miller. For those of you who don’t know, a graphic novel is essentially a long comic book, only a lot more so in terms of art, writing, and depth of story. I haven’t read any of Miller’s work, and that doesn’t take away from the movie at all. The stories – three separate tales woven together in the film – stand completely on their own, with only the bare bones of back story filled in where necessary.

From a pure stylistic perspective, this is a nearly perfect movie, and that’s probably the coolest thing about it. It’s visually amazing. It looks exactly like a moving comic book from start to finish. Probably ninety-five percent of the scenes are in black and white, with the exception of single colors – red lipstick, blue eyes, yellow blood, etc. – that are brilliantly overemphasized. The action scenes – especially the car chases – have been animated in a way that doesn’t even pretend to look realistic. They just look, well, cool. If you haven’t seen the previews, go here and see what I’m talking about.

The stylized feel extends beyond the amazing visuals. The acting and dialogue feel a lot like a 1930’s detective movie, only much darker. There are internal monologues, clichéd phrases, and overdramatic moments of passion, heartbreak, or revelation. In any remotely realistic movie, it would be hard to get away with a line like, “It’s time to prove to your friends that you’re worth a damn. Sometimes that means dying. Sometimes it means killing a whole lot of people,” but in “Sin City,” it absolutely works. It’s just super cool.

As far as the stories themselves, they’re extremely entertaining. They take place in dark, ugly locations where dirty is the only way to get things done. There are twists and turns, some of which you are supposed to see coming, and some of which blindside you. Nearly all of the characters are flawed in one way or another, so don’t go looking for traditional heroes or storybook endings, because your guy just might do something gut-wrenchingly violent in the next scene. Not all the questions are answered, not all of the loose ends are tied up. In true comic book style, a substantial suspension of disbelief is required, but this isn’t that kind of movie. The stories are completely believable simply because the world of the movie is so unique and so comprehensively rendered.

If I were judging this movie on how well it accomplished its goals, I’d have to give it an A+. It is visually stunning, incredibly entertaining, and unlike almost any other movie I’ve ever seen. The reason that I’m giving it a B+ is because no amount of style points can hide the fact that there isn’t much in the way of substance to “Sin City.” It’s similar in that respect to “Pulp Fiction,” which is a spectacular and hilarious movie, but is also a complete triumph of style over substance. No moral of the story, no attempt to change the way you look at life. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this – you don’t want “Dead Poets Society” every time you go to the movies – but for my own rating purposes, movies of the “style over substance” variety don’t get a higher grade than B+. But this is one hell of a super cool B+ movie.

Aren't we all so cool? Yes we are.