Review of Sin City (2005) by Phillip C — 11 Apr 2015

Frank Miller has served as the inspiration of many comic book films throughout the decades with a lot of those adaptations being hated by him or are considered bad/barley mediocre films. It was a matter of time that he will direct/collaborated with another director to create a shot for shot adaptation and the work he selected as the source material would be "Sin City".

"Sin City" is a collection of short stories set in the infamous Sin City, a city that lives up to it's named as it's filled with corruption, murders, prostitution, antiheroes and violence.

Robert Rodriguez is a perfect match for Frank Miller´s over the top, dark and his tone that takes itself too seriously so "Sin City" looked like a promising experiment that ultimately succeeds but that doesn't mean it is a great film. "Sin City" is a peculiar experiment that counts with some fun to watch performances with the stand outs being Mickey Rourke and Clive Owen being the most entertaining actors onscreen, the inventive use of CGI backlot that is the ultimate reason why this film is remember for as it creates the perfect atmosphere where this ridiculously over the top stories could happen, arguably Rodriguez best directing job to date (got to be clear: Best directing, not best film) and the only time Miller has ever worked in the directing chair, some incredible visuals, plenty of memorable scenes, a remarkably executed noir style and enormous entertaining value. But even with all those creative elements, "Sin City" is just another comic book vigilante film. The stories are forgettable, the characters are nothing more than comic book stereotypes, its filled with Frank Miller´s ego as it counts with every single one of his ridiculous tropes (hookers are portray as vigilantes, the antiheroes, a city filled with crime and corruption, over the top violence, "badass" villains, etc.), a cartoony vibe that takes away any sense of danger throughout the film, laughable dialog, an absurd and unnecessary use of violence at times, some actors are wasted in roles that don't really do much, the extensive use of unnecessary monologues take away some of the charmed this noir film could have had, and the experience this film offers is ultimately emotionless due to the fact there is not a single sympathetic character.

"Sin City" is a gorgeously shot, entertaining and stylistic film that's the ultimate example of "style over substance". Sure, it is a fun movie but it really doesn't deserved all the praised it receives; if you take away the visual style, this film has nothing more to offer that hasn't been offer before in other adaptations of Miller's work.