Sin City (2005)

Sin City’s voiceover never stops growling, like a guy reading a comic aloud through a tin can in a thunderstorm, and after two hours your ears get tired. Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller basically pasted the comic onto the screen, black and white with splashes of red and yellow, and on looks alone it’s a stunner. The problem is that style is almost all it has. The stories are hard-boiled to the point of parody, the women are mostly written as types, and the violence is so over the top it stops meaning anything. Mickey Rourke is the exception. His Marv is a wrecking ball with a soft spot, and the heavy makeup somehow makes him more human, not less. Bruce Willis is solid, and Elijah Wood is unsettling without saying a word. It made $158.7 million worldwide on a reported $40 million budget. A 6.9 because it’s gorgeous to look at and exhausting to sit through. $4,776 says you switch your phone camera to black and white tonight and make one thing in every photo red.

What works: The comic-panel visuals, black and white with sharp splashes of color, and Mickey Rourke’s oddly tender Marv.

What doesn’t: The nonstop tough-guy voiceover turns into self-parody, the women get little beyond stock roles, and the over-the-top violence numbs instead of shocks.

Who it’s for: Comic book and noir fans who want to see a graphic novel brought to life frame for frame, and are old enough for an R.