Best comic-to-screen production yet made. A must-see.

Rating: Null/10 (4 April 2005)

I must admit to a certain degree of short-sightedness. The first time I saw Frank Miller's Sin City serials in Dark Horse Presents, I never would have imagined a transition from comics to film for that work - or at least not in his high-contrast monochrome style. Thank the LAWD for technological progress.
I have heard some critical disdain for Sin City, but I can only wonder about these complaints. Simply for the sake of the production quality it should have gotten fair reviews and this is not to mention the excellence of the adaptation. Naturally, this would require the critics of film to be readers of comics, which is not necessarily a reasonable expectation, but the likely gulf between the opinions of fans of the book and the opinions of film critics should raise a question or two as to who is to be trusted here. In short: Film critics might be left high and dry and even confused as to why this film is so well-received.
Fortunately, this mystery is not the same mystery as the persistent high placement of The Pacifier at the box office. Sin City is the present king of the hill in terms of adapting a comic source. A near miracle was performed, in fact. A highly stylized 2D work was visually transported to live action without becoming horribly camp (re Dick Tracy of the 80s or Batman of the 60s). The Miller visual look and feel was ever-present without becoming more important than the stories being presented.
Additionally, the writing remained in the comic realm and was not forced into "screenplay" mode. This might have annoyed some critics, but for a comic purist, it's fantastic. To top it off, the performances of the actors, even Brittany Murphy, was flawless. There may be a flaw or two that stand out the next few times I see this film, but I can still feel confident saying that it's as close to perfect as an adaptation can get, it's as visually stunning as its source material and it managed to keep me on the edge of my seat for most of the time.
I highly recommend this experience. Just be ready for some potentially disturbing concepts and imagery. The faint of heart or stomach might want to consider quite carefully how much you can stand before you go. I'm fairly jaded to comic and screen violence and I was a little freaked out by some of it, so be careful there. Otherwise, get ready for an awesome ride.