Review of Sin City (2005) by Brett C — 03 Nov 2014

Review In A Nutshell:

Sin City has blown people's minds during its release in 2005, and time has passed and many still hail it as one of the greatest films of its decade. I was certainly impressed by it, when I first saw it all those years ago; but time has passed and since then I have grown and my expectations for cinema as a whole has developed with a sense of maturity, therefore Frank Miller's Sin City has lost a bit of its impact on me during my recent viewing.

Sin City features four, loosely, interconnected stories that explores themes of corruption, murder, revenge, justice, and innocence. The story is certainly easy to follow and identifiable characters but beyond its surface, the film fails to deliver anything thought provoking with its themes. The film naturally draws its audience into its dark and terrifying world, but without any impact from the film's themes, the world and its plot simply felt hollow. It also does not help that the film features dialogue that sits in the borderline of being genuinely inspired and tiresome; with every amazing line, it counters with words that would make one sigh and roll their eyes as the statement being said was so obvious that I was distracted and taken aback from Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez's world and characters.

The film fortunately was able to carry its weight through its visual and stylistic designs. The film does a wonderful job in recreating Frank Miller's black and white comic book, acting as a throwback to the elements of noir during the first half of the 20th century. There were actually a couple of moments in this film, where my mind paused for a second just to take in the gorgeous visuals. Though the spoken dialogue of the film left me disappointed, the internal monologue, however, was fantastic; it gave a three dimensional quality to the protagonists, aiding the audience in establishing these characters as heroes rather than anti-heroes.

Robert Rodriguez's ensemble cast was quite pleasing to watch, particularly Mickey Rourke. Rourke brought this hard grit to his role's personality, allowing his character to flourish in every frame he steps on. The rest of the cast may not reach the excellence that Rourke brought, but they definitely still showed a sense of commitment; cherishing the role that they were playing. If the cast brought a less than stellar performance, then it would have been difficult for the audience to be convinced of the city's intended darkness and sense of corruption.

I cannot see myself losing further admiration for Robert Rodriguez's Sin City as its visuals are simply too well executed for me to not appreciate; but due to its recent emerging flaws, I cannot glorify the film as I once did.