"For the wages of sin is death."
-- Romans 6:23
-- Romans 6:23
Willis as Hartigan Robert Rodriguez's Sin City which is also directed by Frank Miller (the same comic book writer who wrote the source material) and features "guest director" (he directed one scene) Quentin Tarantino adapts a comic book (or 'graphic novel' if you're insecure being an adult that knows something about comic books) more faithfully than has ever been done elsewhere. That's because it's not just faithful in storyline, but art direction as well. Most frames are in black and white only save for details the director wants to draw attention to. We follow three interlinking stories (four if you count the short prologue and epilogue) set in the hopelessly corrupt Basin City. Nicknamed "Sin City", it bears almost no resemblance to Las Vegas and isn't meant to. It features heavy exposition from the main character from each storyline in true "noir" fashion, and tries to be nothing more than entertaining. There are no morals imparted, no themes explored, just fast-paced action with impressive visuals and an even more impressive cast filling a niche nobody in Hollywood even knew existed (perhaps it doesn't, considering how terrible Frank Miller's solo-directing attempt The Spirit fared).
Alba as Callahan ** WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD **
The prologue and epilogue follow Josh Hartnett as an efficient hitman, but the movie really starts with Bruce Willis as John Hartigan, a straight-arrow cop who's the clichéd "3 days away from retirement", is trying to stop a serial child molester / murderer whose powerful family protects him from repercussions. Next up is Mickey Rourke as Marv, a multiple-conviction felon who's out to avenge the murder of a one-night stand and will kill anyone who gets in his way. Lastly is Clive Owen as Dwight, a wanted fugitive whose white knight antics might have finally caught up with him. I'm leaving the storylines intentionally vague as, like I said, storytelling is the only goal of Sin City, so the less suspense ruined, the better. Along the way we'll also run into Jessica Alba, Rosaria Dawson, Rutger Hauer, Brittany Murphy, Michael Clarke Duncan, Carla Gugino, Elijah Wood and a host of others. Rodriguez is notoriously new-school when it comes to filmmaking, and several scenes were already shot using stand-ins when actors signed on for their parts. Rather than reshoot the scenes, Rodriguez just filmed the newly-signed actor and digitally added them in to the canned footage.
The prologue and epilogue follow Josh Hartnett as an efficient hitman, but the movie really starts with Bruce Willis as John Hartigan, a straight-arrow cop who's the clichéd "3 days away from retirement", is trying to stop a serial child molester / murderer whose powerful family protects him from repercussions. Next up is Mickey Rourke as Marv, a multiple-conviction felon who's out to avenge the murder of a one-night stand and will kill anyone who gets in his way. Lastly is Clive Owen as Dwight, a wanted fugitive whose white knight antics might have finally caught up with him. I'm leaving the storylines intentionally vague as, like I said, storytelling is the only goal of Sin City, so the less suspense ruined, the better. Along the way we'll also run into Jessica Alba, Rosaria Dawson, Rutger Hauer, Brittany Murphy, Michael Clarke Duncan, Carla Gugino, Elijah Wood and a host of others. Rodriguez is notoriously new-school when it comes to filmmaking, and several scenes were already shot using stand-ins when actors signed on for their parts. Rather than reshoot the scenes, Rodriguez just filmed the newly-signed actor and digitally added them in to the canned footage.
Rourke as Marv All involved play their parts over-the-top, with an almost fourth wall-breaking amount of vigor. Mickey Rourke in particular though, seems to really relish the opportunity to play Marv. Whether it's the brutish personality or just an opportunity to have a good time in a role, Rourke seems to understand how to play his role better than the other actors here. Thankfully, he'll be back in the sequel, A Dame to Kill For, along with Willis, Alba and Dawson. Like Rodriguez's other efforts stretching as far back From Dusk Till Dawn, the violence is over the top and he moves us along in the action so fast that his directorial talent in the traditional sense is never worth discussing one way or the other. The frenetic, almost ADD pace the movie moves at is perfect for the stories it's telling. That same simplicity means my review will be cut short as well as there are no deeper meanings or points to discuss and to delve any deeper into the story would be rob the movie of what it has to offer!
A superbly crafted intertwining story that does it in a unique way.
RSS Feed