Sin City DVD > Reviews > Art for arts sake?

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Outstanding
Soundtrack	Average

Advantages:	an original film and a stunning adaptation of frank Millers work
Disadvantages:	brutal, dark and sleazy

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

There has been a flood of comic book adaptations for the big screen in recent years. They have always been around but with Blade, Spiderman, Daredevil and its spin offs and the dark revisits to Batman's Gotham City to name the more obvious ones. It was inevitable that someone was going to take the dark sleazy world of Frank Millers Sin City and offer that up for movie audience. Thankfully it was the creator himself that drove the project and the result of a comic book mind behind it has created not only a great film but also something very different. Whereas the films that I have mentioned above are, as I said, adaptations, this is something more. Its not a simple adaptation, it's a comic book brought to life, the way it is filmed, the use of false colours, the framing and stark contrasts, all are comic book techniques and to see them used on the screen makes for a very different looking film.

The film is a collection of stories that in a pulp fiction style (Tarrantino is credited as a guest producer alongside Miller and Robert Rodriguez) references each other but stand alone from each other. They are stories of cops and killers, psychopaths and prostitutes and the film seems to stand with one foot in the gumshoe detective world of Humphrey Bogart and the other in some dark sleazy fantasy akin to Blade Runner or the original Mad Max film. From the former genre it revels in a cliché tongue in cheek self narration and punchy prose and from the later a dark apocalyptic view of the world to come. The stories themselves are not even the main point of the film and whilst the plots are nothing to write home about, that doesn't even detract from the film. It's all about style and Sin City delivers that in spades.

The first obvious thing you notice about the film is that it is shot in black and white, but like everything about this film has its own take on that. Whilst 99% of the film makes the most of the dramatic contrasts that only black and white can offer it uses colour highlights to add to the effect. Blood is red, eyes are dayglo' and neon lights backlight the characters. It may have been a question of economics that had a bearing on the decision to film in black and white but it is an artistic decision that not only works but also actually makes the film what it is. Another thing that the media of comics contributes to the film is a discipline that is sometimes lost in movies. The graphic artist has limited room, there can be no indulgences in tangents and sidelines, every frame is needs to contribute to the story and that is a facet that has been translated to the film version as well. But that said it would have been easy for the film to look good from a purely artistic viewpoint but not do its job as a narrative. It is Millers ability to tell a story that holds it all together and as I said before whilst there is nothing overly exceptional about the plot it does its job well and holds its own.

There is a cast of stars to be found here, although some are a bit difficult to recognise with the costumes and make up involved. Bruce Willis, an totally made over Mickey Rorke, Clive Owen, Benicio del Toro, Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba and Rutger Hauer all grace the screen, none really stand out but then its not a film about acting really. The one thing I will say is that none of the characters are remotely likable, even the good guys but then that's sort of the point of the Sin City idea, there is no justice, no morale reward, no ethics just brutal personal gain and revenge in the back streets of this broken city.

I think it is one of those films that will divide people neatly into two camps due to it being so original. You will either get totally behind it or see no merit in it whatsoever. Fans of Tarrantino, Miller, hard boiled detective stories of the 50's, sci-fi and dark fantasy will be right at home but I can see that many will see this as a bit of a geeky teen movie. But you need to watch it for different reasons than those that you normally approach a movie with. It is about style and art and really you don't need to ask anything deeper of the film.

A word about extras
Robert Rodriguez has always loved DVDs, so the bonus features are extensive. There is somehow room for the theatrical cut of the film with its DTS track, two commentary tracks, an alternate audio track with a live audience in Austin, Texas, an interactive map of characters and locations, and 47 minutes of featurettes covering Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino, cars, costumes, props, and special effects.