Sin City

 Review

Common Sense Media says

This extremely violent movie is NOT for kids.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this is an extremely violent movie with constant, intense, and exceptionally graphic battles and all-out butchery and slaughter. Body parts are sliced off (and eaten -- off-camera). People are wounded and killed just about every possible way, including electrocuted, stabbed, impaled, shot, dumped into a tar pit, and sliced up. There are severed heads and other body parts. There are references to child rape and cannibalism. The film also includes nudity, strippers, prostitutes, sexual references, and non-explicit sexual situations. Characters drink and smoke and abuse prescription drugs. They also lie, cheat, steal, extort, and violate as many laws (and commandments) as can be packed into one movie.

  • Women are strong and capable but also mostly hookers and/or nude.
  • Extreme, intense, constant, and graphic violence, torture, suicide, dismemberment, references to cannibalism, child molestation, and rape.
  • Nudity and sexual references including reference to child rape, non-explicit sexual situations, prostitutes.

What's the story?

Two of today's greatest stylists join forces in an audacious synthesis of graphic novel and movie set in a world where the villains are unspeakably evil, the heroes are compromised and overmatched, and the city is filled with corruption but the country is even worse. SIN CITY's three stories about heroes battling overwhelming odds circle around each other, amplify each other, and ultimately intersect. Marv (Mickey Rourke) is a gigantic brute of a man who likes to fight. He has had one perfect night of love with a golden-haired prostitute who she said she wanted him. But the next morning, he wakes up to find her murdered. The world always seems incomprehensible and dreamlike to Marv, especially when he thinks he sees his Goldie again. But she says she is her twin sister. Marv knows -- he thinks he knows -- that justice requires him to kill the people who murdered his angel, no matter what the cost. John (Bruce Willis) is a cop about to retire. But he cannot go until he finds a way to rescue a little girl named Nancy from a man who molests and kills children but is protected by the forces that control Sin City. And Dwight (Clive Owen) is a man who has angered his girlfriend's predatory and abusive ex-boyfriend (Benicio Del Toro). Their dispute will shred the fragile compromise between the corrupt cops and the gang bosses that allows the prostitutes to control their own section of Sin City.


Is it any good?

 

Robert Rodriguez and co-director Frank Miller (the writer/artist of the Sin City graphic novels) create a faithful, shot-for-shot rendition of each stunning panel. Hard, resolute voice-overs accompany stark, inky images. There are brief flashes and flutters of color -- red for brake-lights, a heart-shaped bed, a lightning-streaked sky, a sleek getaway car, and for blood. Yellow for the golden curls of a dead hooker and the jaundiced skin of a cowardly villain whose toxic perversions have turned him the color of bile. This is a masterpiece of technique, bravura film-making with sure and complete mastery of tone, setting, and mood. A lesser cast would be lost, even invisible, but Rourke, Willis, and especially Owen are every bit as arresting as the images around them. Most of the female characters are more props than characters, but Rosario Dawson and Jessica Alba make strong impressions.

The film is overwhelming at times, intentionally keeping viewers off-kilter by combining grand heroics, stunning beauty, hideous grotesquery, outrageous butchery, toughness and innocence, tragedy and comedy. This is a movie where a man's hand is sliced off and then he slips on it like a banana peel. It exists precisely on the edge between exploitation and artistic statement, ultimately saving itself from toppling over with the sincerity of its tone, the beauty of its images, and the honor of its heroes.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about the enduring appeal of such dark stories and characters and the way that co-directors Miller and Rodriguez use the settings and the camera to create mood and character.


This review was written by Nell Minow
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
I loved this film, a great masterpiece. I have the unrated, directors cut, 2 disc DVD set preordered & I cannot wait for the sequel in summer 2006!!!

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Adult
January 11, 2009
 

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Parent of 4 year old
January 8, 2009
 

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Adult
May 17, 2010
 
Masterful work of art, but not for the squeamish
This is another instance in which the movie for itself is fantastic, but there is definitely a certain age range that can deal with the images projected. True to its name, Sin City is riddled with all kinds of sin as listed by Common Sense. Even when I first saw the movie as a high school student I was not prepared at all, and kind of wish I had been. I still cringe at certain scenes. Strictly speaking, I would not recommend this for anyone under the age of 18, but that might be unreasonable. Upper high school, for sure. And if your child is particularly squeamish, this might not be a movie for them ever.

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Adult
August 23, 2009
 
Extremely Violent, Extremely Dark, Extremely Excellent
This is a fantastic, visually-stunning masterpiece. I highly reccommend it. Parents: Although a lot of the violence is obviously fake, a lot of it isn't: heads are cut off, bodies are chewed upon, the main villains are cannibals and child molestors. More dismemberments than Saving Private Ryan. A man's genitals are blown off and at tyhe end of the film, after they've grown back, they're hideouslty ripped off. Beatings (to death), shootings,stabbings, drowings, and dumping in tar pits. but despite all of the gratuituous, over-the-top graphic and pitch-black dark tone and scenes, this is a beautiful film. It is a masterpiece, simply and mildly put. The acting is brilliant, the dialogue is stylish and entertaining, the background is indescribable, and the action is just pure awesome. I give the highest reccommendation that I can.

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Adult
May 13, 2011
 
Good for mature persons common sense is overrating again!
Well this is a pretty comic action film with Film Noir inspiration. The film contains bloody violence yes but its not very sadistic and its more of a dark comedy. Just don't take it seriously and it should be fine. The sex scenes are infrequent and language is not bad either. Parents! you should watch this film before you let anyone under 15 watch it!

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Teen, 17 years old
September 12, 2009
 
i really don't know... if it's good for tweens
i can't really seem to fins any thing good or bad about this movie but i know i love it, really it all depends on the person. no i wouldn't let my kids whatch this lit they are about 12 but i find it to be grate. i'dd have to go with the other guy SuperParent it'd a cool comic book movie

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Parent of 13 and 16 year old
September 7, 2009
 
RR Rules!
we love this film, it is very stylized so the violence is very graphic and gory, there are a few boobs and a girl dancing, but this film is great if you are a comic book fan!

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Parent of 8 and 10 year old
January 7, 2009
 

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Parent of 5, 9, and 10 year old
January 5, 2009
 

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This review was written by Nell Minow
Studio:Dimension
Directors:Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez
Cast:Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson
Genre:Action/Adventure
Run time:126 minutes
Theatrical release date:March 31, 2005
DVD release date:August 16, 2005
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:sustained strong stylized violence, nudity and sexual content including dialogue

This review was written by Nell Minow
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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