3 out of 5

Directed by: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez

This rating / review stands more as a comparison between this ‘recut’ version and the theatrical version, which I gave four stars. ‘Recut’ shows each story as a self-contained flick – it’s own title, own credits – and with some occasional extra footage that was cut from the full length. We start with Bruce’s portion, then to ‘Customer is Always Right,’ ‘Hard Goodbye,’ and ‘The Big Fat Kill.’ It’s novel to have the tales told separately, but it moreso highlights the effectiveness of the theatrical cut – doing away with title cards and swapping some pieces about was ideal for properly selling us on all of this happening in Basin City. The added footage – mostly in ‘Yellow B.’ with Bruce (to my eyes) – is similarly interesting but wisely excised: it adds further links between stories via side characters, but because the tales aren’t so explicitly interwoven (except for glimpses of other stories’ characters), the extra footage is almost distracting, especially since this method wasn’t employed elsewhere. All that said, though, watching this edition of the movie is probably for fan interest anyway, in which case – go for it. The movie manages to be entertaining any which way you take it. But if you’re going in for the first time, don’t assume that this is a ‘director’s cut,’ exactly – it’s mostly just rearranged, and the original is structured much better for a smoother view.