Sin City - The Film Noir You Should Be Talking About

Sin City, Robert Rodriguez's most tolerable film yet

This movie was almost everything I thought it wouldn't be. To be honest, as soon as I found out that Rodriguez was directing I was bracing myself for a complete let down, this is the guy who made Once Upon A Time In Mexico; the most over the top, style over substance, action fest of a film. Oh yeah, he also wrote and directed every Spy Kids movie to date. Needless to say, his record has been a testament to his failure as a film maker. This was something completely different, but it's pretty clear why.

The reason this movie is a success is mostly because Rodriguez decided to use Frank Miller's established stories instead of adapting them to create his own interpretation. He couldn't make mistakes because the graphic novels were perfect story boards. Upon comparison, Rodriguez does a stellar job at recreating the comic book frames. This approach in making a film based on a comic book has largely been ignored in the past, and most of those movies have been lackluster or completely horrendous - like "The Hulk."

As for the film aesthetic, the digital approach worked for this movie. I didn't like the way this tehnique was implemented in "Sky Captain," but for some reason it worked for this movie - probably because it's based on a comic book and gave it a comic book feel. Obviously this type of film making has its pit falls, and there were several shots that didn't look right at all. Ultimately the film doesn't suffer from those brief shortcommings. The use of black and white gave it the noir feel while the occasional bursts of color added life to the dark streets of Sin City. I was totally expecting the digital effects to be the down fall of the film, assuming Rodriguez hadn't fucked it up, but the only major problem was solid performances from the cast.

The talent that they were able to get for this film is unbelievable. There were so many big name actors, it was really mind blowing (obviously celebrity doesn't automatically infer talent). There seemed to be a few actors who weren't convincing at all, and it's painful to watch them deliver their lines. The majority of the actors definitely were acting, but there were a few which were terrible throughout the film.

I would say if you haven't seen this movie go out and see it in the theater. If you aren't a fan of comic books, violence, black and white films, or digital film production you might want to stay clear of this one. This isn't just an action movie, so try to pay attention to themes - they are much more relevant then we might wish to admit.