“I have a new toy! Following a tip from a friend, I got a pair of 2D glasses. They look like the 3D glasses you get at the movies that you’re supposta recycle in the little boxes afterwards but I actually keep and now have a whole row of them hanging off the toy hammock in my room, but instead of converting the fuzzy screen to 3D they revert the fuzzy screen back to 2D. Unless something is specifically shot in 3D and has reason for it (Avatar and Life of Pi being the classic examples), I prefer 2D. I don’t find that 3D adds all that much other than maybe a headache. Now I didn’t really want to pay the surcharge for a 3D movie just to convert it back to 2D, but that’s the way the scheduling worked out. I was switching glasses back and forth for the first 15 min or so to establish that yes they were in fact doing something. Then I just stuck with them because sure why not.
I am still in awe of the first Sin City. There had never been anything else like it. Using frames of a graphic novel as storyboards was simply unheard of. The stylized violence, the effects, the sexy gritty scenes were all revolutionary. I’m still awed watching it.
The new Sin City? Felt a bit like a watered down wannabe. The technique was still there, and it was still something awesome to see, but some of the magic had fizzled out. I think part of the problem is that the original was so inspirational that lots of cheap copies were made. With a few good exceptions (300, and I can’t think of any others right off) most missed the mark completely (The Spirit, Sucker Punch). So now that we’re back to where we started, it all feels a little been there done that.
The storylines were fine, but they did feel a little like leftovers. Maybe too much time had passed. I also spent more time than I should have trying to figure out the chronology with the originals. This story def had to be before that one, but after this other, and I can’t remember how that one concluded, so this could fit there, and if this sequence is here and this one has those constraints where does this sequence fit?
Still it wasn’t all bad. Joseph Gordon-Levitt made a wonderful edition. Character wise I think he was the strongest, or at least felt the freshest. Although the title storyline was the most fleshed out. Jessica Alba’s Nancy got wicked badass. The style, the ultra violence, the graphic goodness was all there. Mickey Rourke’s still got it. Josh Brolin picked it up (missed opportunity not bringing back Clive Owen for a surprise cameo). I really liked Jamie Chung taking over for Miho, and Eva Green was just made for this movie.
So maybe not the same impact it had before, but I’ll still take it
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For – \m/ \m/ \m/