Beautiful but empty

Rating: 5/10 (5 April 2005)

If you liked Kill Bill, then you'll like Sin City at least as much.
My opinion? It doesn't matter how much you dress up shyte, it still smells the same.
There were only four other people in the theater this evening when I saw Sin City, but that's the point of going to a Monday matinée. Two of the four walked out halfway through the movie. I sat there, completely bored -- if you can believe it, with all of the action and gore on the screen -- and tried to get my money's worth.
I don't quite think Sin City was horrible, but it was just yet another orgy of style over substance. The artwork and visual style are truly stunning, and a faithful translation from the graphic novels to the big screen. The dialog, however, was awkward in quite a few places and most of the acting went beyond the expected deadpan to completely flat. Several of the actors seemed bored rather than terrified even as their characters were being dismembered. Clive Owen seemed unsure whether to play a stand-up hero or a slightly insane ex-con. Fans would say he was going for both, as those were both aspects of the character. But the impression that I got was that he wanted to play one or the other, and couldn't quite make up his mind.
In fact, the only actors I thought actually gave good performances were Mickey Roarke as Marv (except during his first scene with Carla Gugino's character, where he gets into some of that awkward dialog I mentioned earlier), and -- believe it or not -- Jessica Alba. I normally don't think Alba can act her way out of a wet paper sack, but she actually sold me on Nancy, especially during her heart-to-heart with Bruce Willis' Hartigan.
There was no character development, and no more plot development than that necessary to get the hero to storm off on a killing spree chasing down the badguy. If this movie hadn't been filmed the way it was, it would be largely ignored except by die-hard fanboys of the comics.
If you like some character development, sympathetic and empathetic characters, a tight and intricate plot, and witty dialog, you're looking at the wrong movie. But if you're looking for the stylistic successor to the Kill Bill movies, enjoy...
I give it 9 stars for style, but only 1 for substance, for an overall 5 stars.