Robert Rodriguez Month - Sin City (2005)

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and I am so excited to today's review, the penultimate review of Robert Rodriguez Month. My all-time favorite Robert Rodriguez film: Sin City. Based on the graphic novel franchise of the same name by Frank Miller, Sin City was co-directed by both Miller and Rodriguez, and would boast one of the best ensemble casts since The Godfather, with a cast that would include Jessica Alba, Devon Aoki, Alexis Bledel, Powers Boothe, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rutger Hauer, Josh Hartnett, Jaime King, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Marley Shelton, Michael Madsen, Nick Stahl, Elijah Wood, and Bruce Willis. 

        The movie's prologue is an adaptation of the short story "The Customer is Always Right," where we see a meeting between a man called The Salesman, and a woman in a red dress called The Customer, who meet on a balcony overlooking the cityscape of Basin City, also known as Sin City. The two have a conversation about how the Salesman can see many things by looking in the eyes of the Customer, like how she's tired of running, is ready to face what she needs to face, but doesn't want to face it alone. The two share a long passionate kiss, where the Salesman promises to take the Customer far away from what she's running from, and he tells her he loves her, and he pulls the trigger of a silenced gun he has pointed at her, killing her. It's implied that she paid him to kill her, as the Salesman remarks that he'll "cash her check in the morning." 

       We then head into the first main story of the movie, "That Yellow Bastard," which is split into two parts. The first part sees Basin City police detective John Hartigan, who is facing early retirement due to his heart condition, looking to resolve one last loose end: the abduction of an eleven year old girl named Nancy Callahan. Unfortunately, Hartigan's partner Bob tries to convince Hartigan to wait for backup, which would give time for Nancy's abductor, a deranged man named Roark Jr., to escape and reach his father's house in the wealthy neighborhood of Sacred Oaks. Unwilling to wait, Hartigan knocks out Bob, and goes after Roark Jr., taking out his thugs, including a pair of thugs for hire named Shlubb and Klump. He goes after Roark Jr., who has Nancy in tow, and manages to get the girl free by shooting Roark Jr.'s ear off, followed by his hand and, well, his dick. Ouch. Bob wakes up, shoots Hartigan in the back, and tells him to stay down. However, Hartigan knows Bob will probably kill Nancy, he keeps Bob distracted, leading to Bob shooting him a few more times. Police sirens close in, and Bob walks away. Hartigan remarks as he fades off "An old man dies, a lot girl lives. Fair trade." 

        We then jump into the next main story, "The Hard Goodbye." We're introduced to Marv, a massive brute, who is having a night of passion with a mysterious woman named Goldie. However, he wakes up to find her dead, with no marks on her. It was murder, and he's been framed, as the police are after him. After brawling his way through police, Marv goes to meet his parole officer, Lucille, who has medication for him. After having a drink at a local tavern, Kadie's Club Pecos, Marv goes on the hunt for anyone with information on Goldie's death. And, after going through a few thugs, Marv meets with a priest in a confessional, who reveals that the Roark family is involved, and they have a farm where he'll find answers. Outside of the church, Marv is attacked by a woman who looks like Goldie. 

          At the farm, Marv is attacked by a silent man named Kevin, who knocks him out cold. Marv wakes up seeing heads of various women, and Lucille is in the room with him. It turns out that Kevin is a cannibalistic lunatic, who eats the women he abducts and kills, and the women, much like Goldie herself, were prostitutes from Old Town. More police show up, killing Lucille, and meeting their ends at the hands of Marv, who learns that the one that Kevin is working for is Cardinal Patrick Henry Roark, brother of Senator Roark and uncle of Roark Jr., and one of the most powerful men in the state. Marv then heads to Old Town, where he learns that the woman stalking him is Goldie's twin sister Wendy. Marv and Wendy team up, head back to the farm, and kill Kevin, with Kevin's remains being eaten by his pet wolf. Marv takes Kevin's head, drops Wendy off at the apartment of his friend Nancy, a dancer at Kadie's, and heads to his confrontation with Cardinal Roark. 

        At the Roark compound, Cardinal Roark confesses to everything: Kevin killing Goldie, Marv being framed and set up to be taken in by the police, and accepts his fate, with Marv cutting the Cardinal's head off. Marv is shot by police, patched up in the hospital, and told by police and an assistant D.A. to sign a confession, or else they'll kill his mother. Marv breaks the assistant D.A.'s arm, and signs the confession. The judge sentences him to death, and he has one last night, spent with Wendy, before he is put to death in the electric chair.

        We then jump to the third main story, "The Big Fat Kill." At her apartment, Kadie's waitress Shellie is being harassed by a drunk ex-lover named Jackie Boy, who wants her back. However, she's enjoying a night with her current boyfriend Dwight McCarthy, who hides elsewhere when Jackie Boy attempts to break the door down. After a bit of a runaround, Jackie Boy slaps Shellie, and heads to use the restroom, where Dwight is waiting, and he dunks Jackie Boy's head in the toilet. Jackie Boy and his crew then takes off, and Dwight follows them, fearing that they may kill someone else. During his chase, Dwight catches the attention of a police car, but the police car switches his pursuit to Jackie Boy, who drives to the one place the police can't go: Old Town. In Old Town, Dwight meets with a former lover named Gail, who tells him to sit and watch. As Jackie Boy attempts to pick up one of the girls of Old Town, Becky, he goes too far and finds himself, and his crew, killed by a silent assassin named Miho, who is loyal to Old Town and to Dwight. And, Dwight notes that Miho doesn't quite take Jackie Boy's head off, but instead "she makes a Pez dispenser out of him." 

       While looking through Jackie Boy's pockets, Dwight finds something major: a police badge. Jackie Boy, it turns out, was Detective Lieutenant "Iron Jack" Rafferty. And with his death, the odds of the truce between the Girls of Old Town and the police would fall apart, and Old Town would be left open for the pimps and the mob to access it, as the girls would no longer be able to protect themselves. Dwight offers the best solution: dump Rafferty's corpse in the tar pits, which is the only place the police won't check. 

        Now, en route to the tar pits, Dwight hallucinates a conversation with Jackie Boy, despite knowing that Jackie Boy is dead. A policeman on a motorcycle pulls Dwight over, leaving him with a warning about driving with a broken taillight. Unfortunately, the car Dwight is driving runs out of gas, forcing Dwight to push it the rest of the way. But, before he can get the car into a tar pit, he gets shot by a sniper, who is part of a gang of Irish mercenaries...all hired by mob boss Wallenquist. Back in Old Town, Gail is confronted by Manute, once a loyal valet for Damien and Ava Lord, but now in the employ of Wallenquist. Manute tells Gail that soon, his employer will get their hands on Jackie Boy, hand his remains over to the police, thus destroying the truce between the Girls of Old Town and the police. However, Gail can save lives by surrendering Old Town freely. 

       Back at the tar pits, Dwight kills most of the Irish mercs, but is caught off guard by two remaining mercs, who cut Jackie Boy's head off, and leave Dwight to sink into the tar. Succumbing to his fate, Dwight is surprised to find Miho pulling him out of the tar pit. Miho, along with an Old Town girl named Dallas, showed up to tell Dwight that Gail is in trouble. After interrogating one of the mercs Miho kept alive, Dwight, Miho, and Dallas go after the other two. Dallas is killed, as is a merc named Ronnie. The last merc, Brian, takes the head and jumps into a manhole, with Dwight following him. After a stand-off, Brian is impaled by Miho's sword and is killed. Dwight and Miho take Jackie Boy's head, make a phone call, and get ready to save Old Town. 

         Gail, being tortured by Manute, is shocked to learn Becky sold out the Girls of Old Town. An arrow goes through one of Manute's men, Stuka, and it has a note from Dwight. Following the letter's instructions,.Manute and his men take Gail and Becky outside into the alley, and Stuka take a second arrow...right through his head. In the alley, Dwight offers an exchange: the head for Gail. Manute agrees, and Gail runs to join Dwight...who blows up Jackie Boy's head. Unfortunately, up on the rooftops are more of the Old Town girls, armed to the teeth, and they all start shooting Manute and his men...all to show Wallenquist not to mess with the girls of Old Town. Dwight and Gail share a passionate kiss, and look out at the carnage. 

       Back to the story of "That Yellow Bastard," we pick up with Hartigan in the hospital, where Senator Roark reprimands Hartigan for what he did to Roark Jr. But, the Senator wants Hartigan to live, even putting up his own money to fix Hartigan's heart condition. However, all of it to put Hartigan behind bars for shooting Roark Jr. and mo****ing Nancy. Hartigan's next visitor is Nancy, who is grateful for Hartigan saving her life, and plans to send him a letter every week, signing her name as Cordelia so as not to get caught. Hartigan's superior, police Commissioner Liebowitz, is beating the hell out of Hartigan to get a confession, which Hartigan refuses. In solitary, Hartigan finds a letter from Nancy/Cordelia. And for the next several weeks, another letter. 

        Eight years later, and no letters. Hartigan, wondering if they found her, realizes something: by this time, Nancy would be nineteen, and probably moved on to other things. One day, a weird, foul smelling, yellow man is in Hartigan's cell, punches him, and leaves an envelope with the index finger of a nineteen year old woman inside. Fearing the worst, Hartigan finally gives the confession he refused to give before, and is released. Bob is there, offering a ride for Hartigan, and telling him that his wife remarried and had two kids. Saying his farewells to Bob, Hartigan finds Nancy's apartment, and investigates for clues, finding a matchbook for Kadie's. 

       Arriving at Kadie's, Hartigan asks Shellie about Nancy, and is pointed to the dancer on stage. Seeing that Nancy isn't missing any fingers, he realizes he was duped, and lead Roark's men right to her. Hartigan decides to walk out of the tavern, leading the yellow man outside to kill him. However, Nancy sees Hartigan, runs up to him, and gives him a long, passionate kiss. Hartigan sends her to get dressed, as he needs to get her away from the yellow man. This leads to a car chase, with Hartigan getting a good shot at the yellow man, who veers off the road and crashes. Hartigan finds yellow blood, which smells just as foul as the yellow man. 

        Nancy and Hartigan reach a motel, planning to stay the night. Nancy confesses her love for Hartigan, but he tries to brush off her advances, feeling he's too old for her. Unfortunately, the yellow man reveals himself, and it turns out to be Roark Jr. Apparently, Senator Roark wanted a grandchild so bad, he paid every expert in the world to grow back Roark Jr.'s junk, but the results had some unintended side effects, like giving him his new yellow appearance. Roark Jr. abducts Nancy, leaves Hartigan to die from strangulation, and sends Shlubb and Klump to pick up the body. However, Hartigan for free, and finds out from Klump where Roark Jr. is going: the Roark farm. 

        Hartigan goes to the farm, where we get a glimpse of Kevin sitting and reading a book, and we hear whipping going on, as Roark Jr. is using a whip on Nancy. Hartigan walks in, and managers to disarm Roark Jr. of his blade, and his dick, and bashes Roark Jr.'s skull in until nothing is left. Hartigan takes Nancy back to Shlubb and Klump's car, bids her farewell, and realizes how the cycle won't end as long as he's alive, as Senator Roark will use Nancy to get revenge for the death of his son. So, remarking "an old man dies, a young woman lives. Fair trade," Hartigan blows his brains out. 

         At a hospital, Becky calls her mother about an injury to her arm, which was a stray bullet during "The Big Fat Kill," and she finds herself in the elevator with a doctor, who turns out to be The Salesman, who offers her a cigarette. Becky tells her mother she loves her, and hangs up the phone, ending the movie. 

       Now, I really can't comment on the writing for Sin City, as a majority of the dialogue in the movie is directly pulled from the graphic novels by Frank Miller. But, as far as how faithful to the graphic novels this movie is, I'd say that Sin City gets the stories from Frank Miller's graphic novels to a T. And, yes, I do have all of the Sin City graphic novels, and I am definitely a massive fan of Sin City.

      The casting of this movie was absolutely spot on. Bruce Willis as Hartigan was an excellent choice, as was Clive Owen as Dwight, who is one of my personal favorite Sin City characters. As for Mickey Rourke, I will quote what Frank Miller himself said about the actor: he IS Marv. And, of course, I gotta admire the lovely ladies of Sin City, like Jessica Alba as Nancy, Devon Aoki as Miho, Alexis Bledel as Becky, Rosario Dawson as Gail, Jaime King as Goldie and Wendy, Carla Gugino as Lucille, Patricia Vonne as Dallas, and Brittany Murphy as Shellie. All of them were fantastic, and they absolutely looked like their comic book counterparts. 

       As for our villains, Powers Boothe, Rutger Hauer, and Nick Stahl as Senator Roark, Cardinal Roark, and Roark Jr. were all devious and all three men nailed their roles. Michael Clarke Duncan was very imposing as Manute, and Benicio Del Toro was just a nasty, despicable bastard as Jackie Boy. And, of course there's Elijah Wood as Kevin, who is the very definition of silent but deadly. Other such villains include the likes of Nick Offerman and Rick Gomez as Shlubb and Klump, and they definitely are memorable for the limited screen time they get. Also, I enjoyed Tommy Flanagan as Brian, who is one of the Irish mercs hired by Wallenquist. 

          Now, I have to mention the prologue segment "The Customer is Always Right." You see, this segment is, quite possibly, the most important element of Sin City, as it was the first thing shot for the movie. A big part of it was because Frank Miller was a stickler for not wanting his comic stories to be adapted to film. Robert Rodriguez, however, was a massive fan, and wanted to, in his words "turn film into the books, as opposed to turn the books into a film." So, Rodriguez offered to fly Miller out to his studio in Austin, Texas, where they'd take a day and film a test. Miller thought Rodriguez was nuts, but sure enough, in the span of ten hours, they filmed "The Customer is Always Right." Had Miller not liked the finished product, it would have stayed as a short film, and that would have been that. But, I think that we can all be grateful that Miller liked the footage, because now we have this movie, which is one of the most celebrated comic book films ever made. And, it really helps that both Josh Hartnett and Marley Shelton were absolutely fantastic in the segment. 

          Also, the choice of which graphic novels to adapt was pretty clear. "The Hard Goodbye," "The Big Fat Kill," and "That Yellow Bastard" are often seen as the three most popular graphic novels in the Sin City franchise, and thus were the three it made the most sense to bring to the screen in this movie. And, the combination of Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller as co-directors was a smart call, as it made it more legitimate that this was Frank Miller's world come to life. After all, it's not Robert Rodriguez's Sin City, it's Frank Miller's Sin City. Oh, and the car scene between Dwight and Jackie Boy? Yeah, Quentin Tarantino directed that scene. Cool.

        I, genuinely, have nothing negative to say about this movie. I love the movie, and I love the graphic novels it was inspired by. I'm giving Sin City a rating of 5/5. Needless to say, the movie was a hit, and a sequel was pretty much assured. But, unfortunately, the long gap and change in tastes from when the original came out in 2005 to when the sequel would hit in 2014 did have a bit of an impact on it. But, we'll save that for tomorrow when we wrap up Robert Rodriguez Month with Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.