323GSR
10-19-2005, 05:05 PM
Wow. What a thread..... Well, after reading the entire thing, I still don't think anyone has gotten a fair review of what I considered to be a masterpiece.
I'm sure by now, everyone has probably seen this film, but it is truly one of the greatest comic-to-film adaptations to date. I'll attempt to do this without giving too much away for those who haven't seen it yet. The integrity of 'Miller's original story was kept well intact, and the visual stylization was very unconventional and refreshing. This is one that didn't suffer form the Hollywood treatment whatsoever. The influence of Tarantino as guest director was made apparent throughout many of the sequences.
Rodriguez's task was simplified due to Miller having already created such a vastly developed, in-depth, interesting world. EVERY character is interesting. And initially, for those who may not be as familiar with the story, it may be hard to discern who is on what side of things. To me, this just adds to the allure of this production. Sure, there is A LOT of gore, but it doesn't seem over the top nor out of place due to the environment and fictionalized time period, which will momentarily allude one to thinking that this story resides somwhere in the 40's. But brief hints and instances of advanced modernism serve as reminders to suggest otherwise.
Frank Miller's characters are so well developed that you feel that you have a solid sense of their motives. Even those that appear briefly in the film. Although some of the characters' actions may seem extreme, it's somehow justified given the atmosphere, and lay of the land. ALL of the acting was superb! Stand out performances are, of course, Mickey Rourke, and I think Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen, and even Elijah Wood(although brief) did amazing jobs in their respective roles.
I really can't say anything bad about this movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The character narration during each individual story did well to further paint a deeply dramatic picture. The addition of the comicly stylized overall visual look is truly second to none. May be rivaled by the upcoming A Scanner Darkly (http://www.apple.com/trailers/warner_independent_pictures/a_scanner_darkly.html)
Defintely a film to check out for fans of the original literary work.
I'm sure by now, everyone has probably seen this film, but it is truly one of the greatest comic-to-film adaptations to date. I'll attempt to do this without giving too much away for those who haven't seen it yet. The integrity of 'Miller's original story was kept well intact, and the visual stylization was very unconventional and refreshing. This is one that didn't suffer form the Hollywood treatment whatsoever. The influence of Tarantino as guest director was made apparent throughout many of the sequences.
Rodriguez's task was simplified due to Miller having already created such a vastly developed, in-depth, interesting world. EVERY character is interesting. And initially, for those who may not be as familiar with the story, it may be hard to discern who is on what side of things. To me, this just adds to the allure of this production. Sure, there is A LOT of gore, but it doesn't seem over the top nor out of place due to the environment and fictionalized time period, which will momentarily allude one to thinking that this story resides somwhere in the 40's. But brief hints and instances of advanced modernism serve as reminders to suggest otherwise.
Frank Miller's characters are so well developed that you feel that you have a solid sense of their motives. Even those that appear briefly in the film. Although some of the characters' actions may seem extreme, it's somehow justified given the atmosphere, and lay of the land. ALL of the acting was superb! Stand out performances are, of course, Mickey Rourke, and I think Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen, and even Elijah Wood(although brief) did amazing jobs in their respective roles.
I really can't say anything bad about this movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The character narration during each individual story did well to further paint a deeply dramatic picture. The addition of the comicly stylized overall visual look is truly second to none. May be rivaled by the upcoming A Scanner Darkly (http://www.apple.com/trailers/warner_independent_pictures/a_scanner_darkly.html)
Defintely a film to check out for fans of the original literary work.