Ten Years Later, We Have Found The Next "Pulp Fiction"

Rating: 9/10 (6 April 2005)

Plot: Since Sin City, much like Pulp Fiction, is a combination of three different stories that interconnect in some ways, it seems more fitting to give a score for each story rather than combine them.
"Sin City/The Hard Goodbye": 9/10: The first story opens up with street thug Marv (Rourke) making love with Goldie (King), a prostitute whom Marv has become smitten with. When he wakes up in the morning to find Goldie dead and the cops on his tail, Marv is outraged. He escapes the cops and, with the help of his parole officer Lucille (Gugino), he sets out to find Goldie's killer, including a meeting cannibalistic killer Kevin (Wood). Along the way, Goldie's twin sister Wendy (also King), whom is under the impression that Marv killed Goldie, sets out to kill Marv.
It's a great set up here, but Marv's strength becomes almost silly. This is basically the only one of the three stories that ever feels like a traditional super-hero type comic book.
"The Big Fat Kill": 10/10: My personal favourite of the trio, it focuses on the character of Dwight (Clive Owen), who was briefly seen in Marv's story. While he is with barmaid Shellie (Brittany Murphy), her former lover Jackie Boy (Del Toro) arrives and forces his way in with his friends. When Dwight threatens Jackie Boy, they leave, but Dwight follows Jackie Boy into Old City, the major prostitute hangout, and warns the prostitutes about him. He finds out that the prostitutes, led by Gail (Dawson), have already taken that initiative and, using the young Becky (Bledel) as bait, their assassin Miho (Aoki) effectively turns Jackie Boy and his friends into Pez dispensers. However, things take a turn for the worse when they find out Jackie Boy is Jack Rafferty, a highly respected cop.
This is the best and bloodiest of the three.
"That Yellow Bastard": 8/10: This one is the worst of the three, but that does not mean it is by any means bad. In fact, it's opening scene, which is shown right after the opening credits, is better than the opening of any other story. It starts with Hartigan (Willis), apparently the last honest cop in Sin City, going after serial child molester "Junior" Rourk (Stahl) who has kidnapped 11-year-old Nancy Callahan (played later by Alba). The problem is that Junior's father is Senator Rourk (Booth), who has covered for his son of numerous occasions. Hartigan is determined to bring him down, punching out his partner Bob (Madsen) when he tries to stop him, and eventually saves Nancy and shoots Junior three times, one of the shots castrating him. Then Bob comes along and shoots down Hartigan.
After we hear the other two stories, this one is picked up again. It is 8 years later, and Hartigan has been locked up in solitary for the whole period, while Senator Rourk badgers him to sign a confession to Junior's child molestation charges. Hartigan has been receiving letters from Nancy Callahan weekly, and when they stop and a human finger is sent to him, he leaves to make sure she is safe. However, he is followed by Junior, transformed by multiple surgeries into a yellow creature. When he finds Nancy in a strip bar, the two of them leave together to escape from Junior and attempt to clear Hartigan's name.
This one had great potential. Seriously. The opening scene shows that. For the most part, it lives up to it. The only real problem is Yellow Bastard. Sure, it makes for a nice visual effect and causes the villain to stand out, but the whole explanation being a side-effect of basically de-castrating him is a little vague.
Action: 13/15: Of course, with all this violence, there must be some cool action scenes. And there are some. However, this movie is more about maintaining the feel than giving some good action. Once you look back at it, there aren't many action scenes, but then again, that isn't the main attraction of the movie.
Visual Effects: 15/15: Even if you hate the rest of the movie, not a single person can say the visual effects are bad. The movie feels exactly like a comic book, and to go even beyond that, this movie can almost be called art. The black-and-white effect conveys the comic book roots as well as the dark seediness of Sin City, with the splashes of colour calling attention to specific areas, whether it be Yellow Bastard or splashes of blood.
Acting: 19/20: The first thing that you notice about the movie, before you see it, is the humongous cast. Needless to say, most of the actors do great in their roles. Granted, Madsen (Reservoir Dogs) doesn't give the best performance of his life the first time we meet him, and Alba isn't necessarily the best choice, acting-wise, for Nancy. However, we are treated with many noteworthy performances.
However, two performances stand out above the others. The first and foremost of which is Rourke. Now, Rourke hasn't had a great performance in a long time, but the role of Marv was made for him. He looks tough as nails, and has a true flame of determination in him. The other standout performance is from Del Toro (Traffic), who plays just about the sleaziest cop in Sin City, and really makes you both hate him and want to see more of this character.
Entertainment: 16/20: This isn't a movie for everyone. It is very violent, and very dark. However, if you can stand the violence, and if this style appeals to you, than you should not walk out disappointed.
Total: 90%: Sin City is basically the most accurate representation of a comic book ever. Kudos to everyone involved for making this movie, and it is now on my checklist to read some Sin City comics and hope for Sin City 2.