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"Lying big, and gettin' the whole damn world to play along with you." That's what powerful Senator Roark (Powers Boothe) assures to Det. John Hartigan (Bruce Willis). At the end of the day, it's who can make everybody else believe the lie; something that seems to be at the core of this unique anthology film from Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez.
Sin City is split into four different stories, two of which are split into two, resulting in six parts. The main stories follow the man with the badge, Hartigan, and a man with a gun, Marv (Mickey Rourke). The former is trying to stop a serial child rapist, while the latter is a hulking beast of a man determined to find the murderer of a prostitute he fell in love with.
But sadly, power doesn't come from Hartigan's badge or Marv's gun. Even though their stories are separate, they both find themselves fighting against increasingly insurmountable odds controlled by men with power perched atop both government and religious structures. Men that have managed to get "the whole damn world to play along" with them.
Two things stand out from Sin City. First, it has a hell of a cast that, in addition of the already mentioned, includes Benicio del Toro, Clive Owen, Rutger Hauer, Jessica Alba, Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Michael Madsen, and many others. The second thing is its peculiar visuals in black-and-white, with select colorization, all of which help make this look and feel like its taken out of the comic book.
But it's not all in the cast and looks. The stories are all engaging and thrilling, and most of the characters are interesting, adding layers to characters that might have felt two-dimensional. I do think that one of the stories, "The Big Fat Kill", which follows Dwight McCarthy (Owen) chasing the abusive ex-boyfriend (del Toro) of his new girlfriend, feels like an extra that doesn't really add much to the overall story arc. But nonetheless, it is well made.
Overall, Sin City succeeds in bringing these classic noir shades into modern settings, with its thrilling direction and unique visual style. However, it is thanks to its colorful characters (no pun intended) and engaging storytelling that it ultimately sticks the landing.
Grade:
SIN CITY
(2005, Miller & Rodriguez)
(2005, Miller & Rodriguez)
"Power don't come from a badge or a gun. Power comes from lying."
"Lying big, and gettin' the whole damn world to play along with you." That's what powerful Senator Roark (Powers Boothe) assures to Det. John Hartigan (Bruce Willis). At the end of the day, it's who can make everybody else believe the lie; something that seems to be at the core of this unique anthology film from Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez.
Sin City is split into four different stories, two of which are split into two, resulting in six parts. The main stories follow the man with the badge, Hartigan, and a man with a gun, Marv (Mickey Rourke). The former is trying to stop a serial child rapist, while the latter is a hulking beast of a man determined to find the murderer of a prostitute he fell in love with.
But sadly, power doesn't come from Hartigan's badge or Marv's gun. Even though their stories are separate, they both find themselves fighting against increasingly insurmountable odds controlled by men with power perched atop both government and religious structures. Men that have managed to get "the whole damn world to play along" with them.
Two things stand out from Sin City. First, it has a hell of a cast that, in addition of the already mentioned, includes Benicio del Toro, Clive Owen, Rutger Hauer, Jessica Alba, Josh Hartnett, Elijah Wood, Rosario Dawson, Michael Madsen, and many others. The second thing is its peculiar visuals in black-and-white, with select colorization, all of which help make this look and feel like its taken out of the comic book.
But it's not all in the cast and looks. The stories are all engaging and thrilling, and most of the characters are interesting, adding layers to characters that might have felt two-dimensional. I do think that one of the stories, "The Big Fat Kill", which follows Dwight McCarthy (Owen) chasing the abusive ex-boyfriend (del Toro) of his new girlfriend, feels like an extra that doesn't really add much to the overall story arc. But nonetheless, it is well made.
Overall, Sin City succeeds in bringing these classic noir shades into modern settings, with its thrilling direction and unique visual style. However, it is thanks to its colorful characters (no pun intended) and engaging storytelling that it ultimately sticks the landing.
Grade: