Visually striking but hollow

Rating: 6/10 (13 June 2005)

Sin City is an experimental film seeking to bridge the gap between live action and and animation. Its main calling card is its look which it does deliver on. Shot in moody, retro black and white with occasional splashes of colour, the movie is a feast for the eyes which is just as well as there's not really much else going on. In terms of plot, characterisation and having something to say about the human condition, Sin City doesn't even make it out of the starting blocks, though it's obvious that these concerns weren't high on the filmmakers' list of priorities in the first place. The various plots are just perfunctory pastiches of vigilante/noir movies of old which service the film's visuals rather than the other way around. The actors blend into their surroundings well enough but it's hard for any of them to really shine as the characters they're playing are essentially cardboard cut-outs. The film is pretty violent and not for the squeamish but much of the violence is really of the Tom & Jerry cartoon variety with characters receiving blows which in real life would concuss or even kill them but which here merely leave them dazed for a couple of seconds. Overall, Sin City is a perfectly watchable film but is around 10/15 minutes too long and its unwillingness to engage the audience on any kind of emotional level ultimately lessens its potential impact considerably.