"Sin City" Sucks!

I saw this last night with Laurie and all I can say is: Wow, Sin City is awful. It's a gritty film-noir, but film-noir has been done better in just about every way. The best word to describe it might be "grueling", but "insulting" and "worrying" are just as apt.

In the middle of the movie Laurie blurted out, "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" (or something to that effect). And rightfully so. Later on, as Bruce Willis was punching a prone man's skull into pulp, Laurie leaned over to mention, "There's something seriously wrong with our society."

I don't really know what I was expecting, but I certainly wasn't prepared for the stilted dialog, misogynistic overtones, gratuitous violence and fractured story-line. In many of the film's fade-to-black moments, I found myself praying for the closing credits to roll. Unfortunately, I wouldn't get my reprieve until more than 2 hours had passed.

It has a glittering cast, every major role is played by a recognizable star, but the only good performance comes from Mickey Rourke. The script is stilted and the dialog is plastic. They tried to stay close to the comic book and, predictably, the characters are flat and uninteresting. I feel for the actors who for the most part muddle through (The women especially aren't given very much of anything to work with). It doesn't help that they all seem to have studied at the Keanu Reeves School of Acting.

The press that I've seen on this movie has been mostly focused on the cinematography, which I must admit was impressive. Movie reviewers seem to be so bored with run-of-the-mill live-action films, so starved for a new interpretation of the medium, that they are willing to overlook glaring, often offensive, flaws in this movie.

If you're curious to see the effect of technology on the film industry, you might find Sin City slightly interesting. The film was shot completely with digital cameras. The actors worked in front of green-screen with the backgrounds, colors and action were all added later as special effects. There are some genuinely impressive shots which emulate the gritty tone of the comic, which is mildly impressive considering the differences between the mediums.

But in fully embracing the comic-book, Robert Rodriguez, sacrifices all the elements of film that have made the industry succesful. And the movie (along with everyone watching it) suffers terribly under these artificial constraints.

If you're looking for fun, escape, enjoyment, or stimulation (other than gore and softcore porn) there have got to be other, better movies out now. Then again, maybe it's better if you just stay home a read a book.