Today I went to see Sin City in the cinema; one of the few times I’ve plumped for a film not knowing at all what the setup is beforehand… all I knew it was an adaptation of a series of comics/graphic novels.

Despite my claims to geekdom, I know a bit, but not very much about the graphic novel world, and so perhaps I’m not best to judge this film….but anyway, I loved it. Absolutely loved it. Not only for the slick, gorgeous visuals (which deserve a separate eulogising blog post of their own) but because the film retains the spirit of the comic book, namely the suspension of disbelief: cars literally jump over the peaks of hilly roads, characters take tremendous beatings (or get shot dozens of times,) and still live, there is last-minute rescue upon last-minute rescue - you know it’s coming but you still enjoy seeing it happen. Unlike some other comic-to-film adaptations like X-Men and Spiderman, it doesn’t indulge in real-worldifying by introducing additional context such as politics or ethical issues; it’s in its own sleazy universe on its own, with no attempt to moralise or make it ‘relevant’. Toss in a good score and a great, verging on perfect cast (just when you think it couldn’t get better - here comes Rutger Hauer!), and you’ve got a brilliant film. I think Tom agrees.

Only gripes - if you don’t like your films long, you might not like this; also it gets quite, quite violent a lot of the time, with some characters meeting quite gruesome demises… but this is a quite essential part of the film’s central premise. If you’re not troubled by either, then do go see it.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 4th, 2005 at 01:49:41 and is filed under General.