Sin City is a joy to watch !

Rating: 8/10 (29 September 2005)

A combined directorial talent of the guy who brought us films like "From Dusk Till Dawn", "El Mariachi" & "Desperado" (Robert Rodriguez) together with the man who writes comics such as Batman: Year One & The Dark Knight (Frank Miller). You could expect some weird miss-match or a break through genre busting movie. Thankfully we get the latter with this movie.
I'm a huge comic book fan, but I never really liked Frank Millers work with Batman, but that maybe due to the fact I never really liked the Batman comics ! Having never read the Sin City material I didn't really know what to expect from the film, and from the opening scene which Robert Rodriguez used to seduce the other actors into signing onto his film you could tell your in for a special treat, each story is told like a separate short film but are all inter-twined within the film's framework through a central location, the local drinking establishment. The film is made up of three stories, each based off their respective separate comic books. The first story is based around Marv, played by Mickey Rourke, and his quest to seek vengeance for the murdered hooker he has been framed for. The second story is based around a character named Dwight, played by Clive Owen, who mistakenly is involved in killing a "hero" cop whose chosen the path of crime. The final story which concludes the film is focused on an honest cop named Hartigan, and his determination to protect a young girl.
The stories are told with such great screenplay, probably because each story seems to have been lifted straight off the comic book canvas, and the plot line itself may seem rather strange and geek boy, but my word does it work. In some ways it reminds me a lot of the bold attempt to bring Dick Tracy to the silver screen, but where that failed in so many departments, Sin City outshines and then some ! The dark humour is mixed with graphic violence not for those with a squeamish complex, definitely a ground breaking film and the digital filming, (actors were filmed against a green background and then later in the editing room the actual backdrops were added), adds a touch of real quality with the occasional use of colour not just thrown in for good measure but actually making a point Probably one for the testosterone fuelled young boys in all of us men, great visuals mixed with good looking babes, and a killer story line, literally !