Kat's Film Reviews: Sin City

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Sin City

I want to recommend this to everyone but there's no way everyone will enjoy it. It's not the fact that it's based on a comic book -- this isn't superhero stuff and won't turn off those who find that silly. What it is is style on screen. It's like watching printed graphics come to life -- Sin City 3D. Except that it's more like 2.5D because nothing looks real in the film either. It's filmed in black and white with splashes of color where most appropriate (the yellow of one of the villains is particularly spot-on; effectively repulsive). Some of the scenes are exact replicas of pages from the graphic novel, which is a remarkable accomplishment on its own. Now the reason I don't recommend this to everyone is because it's ultra-violent and ultra-sexist. You could call it ultra-noir. Except that the black and white characters you expect from such noir camp reveal themselves as shades of gray (and yes, I'm sure the comparison to how it was filmed is supposed to be noticed). The violence on screen is obviously cartoonish...in parts. I would be hesitant to take any teenager because of the parts that are not evidently sent up. For those over the age of 19, I would be surprised if you didn't see the beauty and craft. My husband, the comic geek and fan of the artistic excellence of the book, wasn't sure he needed to see this kind of violence on film. If it was a pleasant surprise for him, I think it will be doubly so for those who haven't read the book and have no preconceptions. Besides, I love films with good endings and this one has a whopper.

year: 2005
length: 124 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401792/combined

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