Bruce Willis is Hartigan
Early Sin City Reviews
AintitCool
has had 32 reviews sent to them all about the film Sin City. So,
what did the audiences think? Of the 32 reviews, only one of them was negative...
which should be a relief to many. Actually, the number one complaint seems
to be that the film is too similar to the books. I don't know about you,
but that doesn't sound like much of a complaint at all.
Below is a snippet from one of the reviews sent
in.
THE BAD NEWS: If you've read the three stories included in this movie, there is almost nothing in the film you haven't seen before.
THE GOOD NEWS: Fuck the Bad News. Whether you've read Sin City or not, this movie will kick your eyeballs' asses for two straight hours with innovative digital film technique, amazing visual design throughout, and one of the best ensemble casts in crime fiction brought to slavishly accurate life by an equally impressive group of actors who still manage to leave their own stamps on the characters.
As many of you know, the film combines three of Sin City's most popular storylines. A major surprise (for me, at least) is that the three stories are shown mostly whole, in the sequence they were published. "The Customer's Always Right" is followed by a credits sequence, then the opening scene of "That Yellow Bastard". This cuts straight to Marv and "The Hard Good-Bye", which cuts straight into "The Big Fat Kill", followed by the rest of "Yellow Bastard".
Sin City is truly a character of its own and co-director Rodriguez deserves equal credit for being the technical filmmaker medium that channels Miller's supernatural talents. Each visual detail of the film, from the chiaroscuro rainfall to the shadows and bandages on Marv's ugly mug, right down to the floorboards of Shellie's apartment and Dwight's Chuck Taylor All-Stars, is both a fresh, new filmed image and a perfect reproduction of Miller's art. Doubtless, Rodriguez's adventurous digital filmmaking techniques and anything-goes attitude allowed the Miller style to be translated faithfully, but also with a new energy created by the motion and flow of film and the performances.
Oh, the performances. Bruce Willis's Hartigan frames the picture and I believe his is the performance the world-wide audience will respond to most. I've read each of these Sin City yarns at least five times and I still found myself a little choked-up during much of "Bastard" because of Bruce Willis. Mickey Rourke is horrifying, hilarious, and then heartbreaking as violent Marv. Dwight is as crazy and violent as Marv, but Clive Owen keeps him the coolest of the three. Although I openly hate some of Sin City's lead actresses, they all make excellent Frank Miller women: beautiful, intelligent, resourceful, and deadly. I could go on and praise Manute, Lump, Junior, Schlubb, Shutz, Stuka, Lenny, Benny, Bob, the IRA, KEVIN!!!, all three Roarks, Kevin's dog, Lucille, Dwight, Gail, Becky, Jackie-Boy, and all the rest...but I'll only say that they're all just about perfect. Look how much space was wasted just trying to list them all.
All three lead actors do their characters great justice, both visually and in personality. Each main character is a "two-time loser" seeking some redemption and proof that they are "worth a damn" to a female character(s). This might make for boring cookie-cutter performances, but the actors make choices based on Miller's original stories that set them far enough apart to let each character and his story be unique unto itself, exploring different aspects of the greater themes. All three are inclined to over-the-top violence, mild-to-severe psychosis, internal monologue, and the protection of wronged women.
For more Sin City reviews, head over to AintitCool.
For more clips, trailers, movie stills, and synopsis, go to the Sin
City Movie Page
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