Dark, stylish, sexy and DAMNED entertaining

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2005)

Sin City is the delightful and devilish idea from the mind of imaginative Frank Miller. The remake of the comic is stylish film noir at its best. This sexy movie weaves three stories into one but each story has one thing in common: they're all in Basin City - a place infested with crooked cops, gangs and prostitutes. The first story is about Hartigan (Bruce Willis) - the rogue cop, one man absolutely determined to save a little girl from the hands of a sexual predator. The second is the story of Marv (Mickey Rourke), an apeish ex-con wishing to avenge the murder of his beloved Golde. Lastly, the gorgeous Dwight (Clive Owen) - a guy just wanting to look out for his barmaid girlfriend (Brittany Murphy) but ends up in a war between crooked cops and prostitutes, lead by Gail (Rosario Dawson).
The performances were outstanding. Mickey Rourke shone as Marv, and Benicio Del Toro plays a great Jackie Boy. Bruce Willis and Clive Owen both put in solid performances for their respective characters. I was surprised at Brittany Murphy's performance, which in my opinion was definitely her best. Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba (Nancy) and Jaime King (Wendy/Golde) all put in sexy performances. The only disappointing performance was by Alexis Bledel (Becky) - I felt her a little flat and one dimensional, but this did not detract from the movie.
The best thing about this movie was the bold, stylish and VERY daring cinematography. It is shot in black and white, with splotches of colour every now and again (a red dress, blue eyes, etc.). I wouldn't be surprised if this movie got a few Oscars under its belt for this alone. The movie borders into fantasy, but never quite makes that step, which is a bold move by Rodriguez. The heroes do not wear capes, don't fly or have special powers, but there is something unnatural about them that is never explained.
The movie was an accurate representation of the comics, and I believe is a masterpiece of modern popular culture. Definitely *the* best comic book remake to date, and all in all, thoroughly entertaining. 4.5/5 stars.