The film is a series of vignettes based on three “Sin
City” comic book stories: The Hard Goodbye, Sin City Volume 4, and Sin City,
Vol 3 written and drawn by comics legend Frank Miller.
Jeffrey Lyles said in his review, “Miller teams with
co-director/co-screenwriter Robert Rodriguez (Once Upon a Time in Mexico
[Blu-ray]) for a movie-going experience unlike anything you’ve seen in years
thanks to slavish devotion to retaining the gritty, film noir look and feel of
its comic book source material.”
Mickey Rourke stars as Marv, a nearly indestructible bodyguard
trying to avenge the murder of his girlfriend, Goldie, played by Jamie King.
Lyles notes, “On his path of vengeance, Marv smashes
through armed police officers and their cars, dives off rooftops with ease as
his trench coat billows in the wind all with a maniacal gleam in his eye.”
Rourke is electric in the role and he’s dynamic even with the heavy makeup that
makes him look really close to his comic book counterpart.
Taking the spotlight for the other two stories are
Bruce Willis as soon-to-be retired detective Hardigan who tries to save Nancy
(Jessica Alba, but Alexa Vega’s younger sister, Makenzie Vega plays Nancy at
age 11), a stripper who a senator’s (Power Boothe) crazy son (Nick Stahl) is
obsessed with, and Clive Owen as Dwight, a person who went to prison twice and
turns his life around even as problems appear to find him.
The most interesting of the vignettes is Dwight’s
story as he gets on the wrong side of a gangster, played by Benicio Del Toro,
and has to rely on his Old Town friends – a gang of women dressed more as
superheroes in ninja, punk rock and cowboys than prostitutes led by his old
girlfriend Gail, played by Rosario Dawon. Owen is brilliant. Lyles credited, “While
Rourke is so much fun whirling around like a Tasmanian devil, Owen is smooth,
calculated and as cool as every guy wants to be when they have an inner
monologue.”
Miller’s comic was black and white with the occasional
color accent – like scarlet lipstick of a damsel in distress. Lyles noted, “The
film mirrors that look with minimal color. Combined with digitally rendered
backgrounds, Sin City features a vivid, striking visual that fondly looks back
at the 1940s film noir style while embracing modern technology.”
Lyles continued, “Sin City boasts an embarrassing
riches of talent to the point that any three or five actors could carry their
own movie, but have glorified cameos.” This is evidently an area where this
top-notch talent (Brittany Murphy, Powers Boothe, Rutger Hauer, Carla Gugino,
etc.) wanted in on the film no matter how small their role.
Lyles said, “Still, it would have been nice for Del
Toro, the 2001 Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner for Traffic to have more
screen time.” Josh Hartnett also has a great role that is a bit small.
Lyles noted, “Rodriguez has never been a filmmaker to
stage action with any trace of reality, yet he reins in his regular tendencies
to make the violence extreme, but not absurd — for the most part.”
Lyles continued, “Rodriguez’s regular collaborator,
Quentin Tarantino, fills in to direct the most violent of the vignettes, which
features blood geysers, decapitations and even the ridiculous shot of a guy
slipping on his dismembered hand as if it was a banana peel. It’s silly and
goofy, but in the context of the film’s dark humor, it’s effective.”
“Sin City” is persistent, brutal and revolutionary in
its method of making the 2D comic book image jump on the big screen in unprecedented
fashion. It’s not for everyone, but for those willing to like the unique style
of insanity, it’s one of 2005’s most pleasant and welcome surprises.
If you were a fan of Frank Miller’s 2005 film “Sin
City,” there’s a pretty good chance that you’re going to enjoy “Sin City: A
Dame to Kill For,” released in 2014.
Shot pretty much the same way as the first film, “Sin City: A Dame to
Kill For” doesn’t have the same impact the first film had mostly because it has
that feel of “I’ve seen it before.”
Richard Propes said in his review, “While it's not
likely to win too many new converts to Frank Miller's world, Sin City: A Dame
to Kill For still dazzles as long as you can surrender yourself to its
hyper-stylized world where extreme violence and nudity is abundant and
unapologetic.” This film has many of the same characters as the first film,
some played by new actors, and there are a few new characters who mix things up
in a great way.
The film has four story segments – three are prequels
to the first film, while one takes place after what transpired in “Sin City.”
Marv, reprised by Mickey Rourke, is back and starts
the film off with intensity with a story based on Miller’s “Just Another
Saturday Night.” Propes noted, “The barrel-chested Marv finds himself in a spot
of trouble after a go-around with a bunch of punks and places it upon himself
to inflict some good ole' fashioned vigilante justice with the help of the
citizens of Old Town.”
From a newer Miller story titled “The Long Bad Night,”
Johnny, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is a gambler by nature who never loses
a game of chance. For the most part, that’s worked well for him. Then, he makes
what might just be a mistake by winning big at a game of poker controlled over
by Senator Roarke, played by Powers Boothe, who doesn’t take losing lightly. He
really doesn’t take losing lightly.
Dwight (Josh Brolin) has a soft spot for Ava (Eva
Green), a soft spot that Evan takes full advantage of and, well, you’ll just have
to see the rest from a 1993 Miller work. Propes said, “Brolin, taking over for
Clive Owen, is an absolute natural in this kind of noirish pulp.”
Finally, the beautiful stripper Nancy (Jessica Alba)
is back in another new Miller story, “Nancy’s Last Dance, and ready to seek
revenge on Senator Roarke for his murder of Hartigan (Bruce Willis).
Stylistically, “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” is very
similar to the first film where it’s filmed mostly in black-and-white with splashes
of color. The film’s frequent look of blood are filmed in bold expressions of
red with occasional white, while there’s an awesome added look with Eva Green
that just has to satisfy viewers. Propes ended his review by saying, “Some of
the supporting newcomers, I'm thinking of Dennis Haysbert and Jeremy Piven in
particular, are welcome additions and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For becomes an
impressive summer sequel. While it may seem like this immersive world is made
for the 3-D experience, I personally didn't find that the 3-D imagery added
much to the equation.”
If you haven’t seen these films yet, you shouldn’t
even be reading this review. You need to go out and see these films. The first
one is great, hands down, but the sequel, despite it not being as good as the
first, is still an enjoyment. The middle story goes on for a bit, but overall,
I liked these films a lot. These are two of the best comic book adaptations
ever, and you need to see it to know what I mean.
Thank you for joining in on “Benicio Del Toro Month.”
I hoped everyone enjoyed it. Look out next month to see what I will end the year
off with.
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