Thursday, August 25, 2005
Bullets, Blood, and Babes
I like me some Bruce Willis, Benicio del Toro, and Michael Clark Duncan. I also enjoy noir and Jessica Alba is hawt so I figured what the heck I'd give Sin City a spin.
Up front I'll say that I have never read any of the comics.
Visually the film is very interesting. It really is like someone took a graphic novel and made it 3D. The use of black and white with shocking bits of color is arresting. I have no doubt that Frank, Robert, and Quentin had a bucket of fun making it.
The acting is generally pretty good, as good as it needs to be to get the job done. The story lines seem to be right in line with the noir tradition. The gun fights are okay (usually pretty one sided) and there are more gorgeous babes than you can shake a stick at. This movie should have at the very least be fun. It's not.
It lacks heart. It elevates revenge, prostitution, deceit, and hatred. I can't really find myself caring for any of the characters, well maybe Hartigan (Willis) but that's probably just because I'm a fan. In something that tries hard to be gritty, it just ends up being grimy.
The look of it gets annoying after a while. This is probably a nit pick, but why can't all the blood in this film (and there are buckets of it) be one color? Kill Bill did that black and white scene ostensibly because of the amount of blood in that fight, but at least the blood was black.
One character, Marv (played by Mickey Rourke and seemingly a cross between Mike Hammer and the Thing), finds the purpose in his life to be getting revenge for a hooker who shows him a good time in spite of his ugliness. I should at least feel some pity for him, but it generated zero emotion.
Hartigan (Willis) is a detective that right before he retires rescues a girl from a serial killer. Because the killer happens to be a senator's son, Hartigan ends up taking the wrap. After eight years in prison (where he gets a letter a week from the girl, honestly what parent would let their little girl correspond with a convicted felon?) he gets out and looks for her. Even though he was a detective for thirty years he doesn't figure out that his being released was a trick until he gets to see her. And she hides from the killers while becoming a stripper in the town where she had been kidnapped. I will grant that the resolution of that plotline makes more sense than any other part of it. The only thing I felt here was sorry for the little girl.
The whole thing was as flat as the comic book it was brought from. Maybe if I were a teenager I would have enjoyed it more, but anyone who would let their teenage son watch this misogynistic festival of blood probably deserves to raise a serial killer.
For inventiveness and bringing a comic book to the screen while maintaining the feel of it I give this five points. I really can't think of anything else that could add to its score so we'll leave it a 5/10. ¶
7:39 AM
I like me some Bruce Willis, Benicio del Toro, and Michael Clark Duncan. I also enjoy noir and Jessica Alba is hawt so I figured what the heck I'd give Sin City a spin.
Up front I'll say that I have never read any of the comics.
Visually the film is very interesting. It really is like someone took a graphic novel and made it 3D. The use of black and white with shocking bits of color is arresting. I have no doubt that Frank, Robert, and Quentin had a bucket of fun making it.
The acting is generally pretty good, as good as it needs to be to get the job done. The story lines seem to be right in line with the noir tradition. The gun fights are okay (usually pretty one sided) and there are more gorgeous babes than you can shake a stick at. This movie should have at the very least be fun. It's not.
It lacks heart. It elevates revenge, prostitution, deceit, and hatred. I can't really find myself caring for any of the characters, well maybe Hartigan (Willis) but that's probably just because I'm a fan. In something that tries hard to be gritty, it just ends up being grimy.
The look of it gets annoying after a while. This is probably a nit pick, but why can't all the blood in this film (and there are buckets of it) be one color? Kill Bill did that black and white scene ostensibly because of the amount of blood in that fight, but at least the blood was black.
One character, Marv (played by Mickey Rourke and seemingly a cross between Mike Hammer and the Thing), finds the purpose in his life to be getting revenge for a hooker who shows him a good time in spite of his ugliness. I should at least feel some pity for him, but it generated zero emotion.
Hartigan (Willis) is a detective that right before he retires rescues a girl from a serial killer. Because the killer happens to be a senator's son, Hartigan ends up taking the wrap. After eight years in prison (where he gets a letter a week from the girl, honestly what parent would let their little girl correspond with a convicted felon?) he gets out and looks for her. Even though he was a detective for thirty years he doesn't figure out that his being released was a trick until he gets to see her. And she hides from the killers while becoming a stripper in the town where she had been kidnapped. I will grant that the resolution of that plotline makes more sense than any other part of it. The only thing I felt here was sorry for the little girl.
The whole thing was as flat as the comic book it was brought from. Maybe if I were a teenager I would have enjoyed it more, but anyone who would let their teenage son watch this misogynistic festival of blood probably deserves to raise a serial killer.
For inventiveness and bringing a comic book to the screen while maintaining the feel of it I give this five points. I really can't think of anything else that could add to its score so we'll leave it a 5/10. ¶
7:39 AM
