Comic Noir

Rating: 8/10 (11 April 2005)

To begin I feel compelled to say that I have been a die-hard movie fan for over 40 years. There isn't much I haven't seen - much of quality at least. This film is one of the few that drew me in almost entirely on the strength of the trailers. It looked to be innovative if nothing else, and since I am also an alpha-nerd deeply enmeshed in the world of advanced technology I found that allure irresistible. Almost every frame looked CG enhanced in one manner or another. Another draw was the casting. The lineup of talent promised here was another irresistible charm.
As for the story, well, let's just say that the "R" rating is appropriate for the violence alone, which is pervasive and often barbaric. The dialog isn't very "rough", being more reminiscent of a 1950's Mickey Spillane detective novel than more modern offerings, almost bordering on a sophomoric satirization of something like Spillane. It is forgivable in this example of the genre. Also glaring is the heavy-handed socio-political cynicism of the no-good-deed-goes-unpunished variety in the writing. There is also bound to be some negative views of the film for its uniform portrayal of women as almost nothing other than sex objects, but no one's intellect is overly challenged here so it can be chalked off to the general area of suspension-of-disbelief one must often undertake to approach viewing many films.
So, needless to say, I entered the theater with more than a small bit of expectation. I think I can say I wasn't too disappointed. The film faithfully followed the "Graphic Novel" in most details, save for a few transgressions such as the decidedly overdressed characterization of the Nancy Callahan exotic dancer character by the apparently overly-modest Jessica Alba. By contrast, the appearance of Carla Gugino on screen in the part of Lucille was so charged with raw feminine sexual energy it will burnt a hole in the screen and straight through your retinas. She is the real poster girl for this film, at least the one best representative of the material in the original "novels".
Some of the other characters were nothing short of outstanding. Notable standouts were Bruce Willis as the hard luck cop Hartigan and his nemesis Senator Roark, played to a turn by Powers Boothe. Clive Owen, who has been working a lot of late, did a powerful job as Dwight against the amazing presence of Rosario Dawson as the dominant Gail. Mickey Rourke, whose career hasn't exactly been on fire of late, gave a powerful portrayal of the obsessed Marv, out to avenge his Goldie, played to stunning perfection by the beautiful Jaime King (who also played the twin sister Wendy). Other standouts were Benicio Del Toro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Alexis Bledel (what photographic genius to highlight those amazingly unreal blue eyes), Michael Madsen, and Brittany Murphy, whom I could have taken more of on screen. Not to be left out, Elijah Wood gave a chilling performance as the very demented Kevin, followed close behind by Rutger Hauer as the twisted Cardinal Roark and the unrecognizable Nick Stahl as the Yellow Bastard. All are to be congratulated on outstanding performances giving life to this gritty if somewhat left-of-sane set of stories.
The rest of the film presentation was wonderfully done with a deep, dark, noir-type atmosphere that I loved. It was another of the draws for me, personally. It's hard to heap much praise on the rest as it's difficult to tell where things like set decoration end and computer generated graphics begin. The blend is seamless, however, and of the best quality. The art direction, costumes and makeup were wonderful as well. The musical score was appropriate but mostly unmemorable, too overshadowed by the powerful visual presentation on screen.
All-in-all this is an excellent film if you can stomach the violence and the negative social commentary.