INCREDIBLE-takes us into a rare cinematic dimension

Rating: 10/10 (22 April 2005)

Sin City ****/out of 4
Comics have always been turned into films, but films have never been transformed into comics. The super hero genre of movies have included Spiderman, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Batman, X-Men, The Punisher, Constantine, Blade, Daredevil, The Hulk, and many others. In addition to super hero movies, many films such as American Splendor, Road to Perdition, From Hell, and Ghost World were all adapted from comics. Although some adaptations, such as American Splendor, have remained true to their comic, no film has ever accomplished what Sin City has.
Being someone who has read Frank Miller's Sin City comics, seeing Sin City on the big screen was like seeing a whole new type of cinema that only partially existed in the 1950s. If people say that Sin City, the movie, is just like the comics...they are wrong. Simply put, the move is the comics. Never before has a graphic novel been used completely as the actual storyboard for a film. The movie and comic are identical, line for line and shot shot. One thing that makes the film so unique is its color. It retains the black and white feel of the comic, creating a gritty and crime filled atmosphere. Also, Sin City stands as a perfect example for modern film-noir. Many directors still give their films a noir-ish feel, such as David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks, and Blue Velvet, but Sin City stands as a cinematic symbol for film noir.
The film adaptation consists mostly of books one, three, and four. Each book is a story of a man searching for redemption, through violence and true love. Book one, The Hard Goodbye, focuses around Marv (played by Mickey Rourke). He has a one-night stand with a hooker, Goldie (Jamie King), only to find her dead the next morning. What makes The Hard Goodbye the most memorable story of Sin City is Marv's twisted, yet humorous rampage he embarks on to avenge a woman he barely knew. He has no meaning to his life, and all he has to live for is murder. The characters in The Hard Goodbye are made to look exactly like the characters in the comic. Elijah Wood turns in a creepy performance as Kevin, a local cannibal. In the third book, The Big Fat Kill, the story is centered around Dwight and his journey to and from Old Town, dealing with hookers, his lover, and the head of a cop. Clive Owen does a darkly serious job as playing Dwight (similar to his fierce role in Closer). Rosario Dawson, too, resembles all the traits of Gail, as drawn in the comic. Probably the best performance in this segment, though, is from the underrated Benicio Del Toro. He proves, once again, to completely absorb his character and puts his talented signature on the few scenes he is in. Quentin Tarantino, credited as "special guest director", films the segment when Owen is driving in the car with Del Toro's dead body. For those who have seen Pulp Fiction, this scene is a reminiscent of Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta conversing in the beginning. The third story in the film, and the fourth book, is That Yellow Bastard. Bruce Willis plays Detective John Hartigan who's tracking a local child molester his last day on the job. Jessica Alba plays Nancy Callahan, the girl Hartigan saves, and his lover as well. Willis does the best job out of the whole cast, right next to Nick Stahl.
As Joe Williams of the post dispatch said, "style beats substance", and that is true indeed. Compared to other early films of 2005, like The Upside of Anger, which focus on a powerful theme, Sin City focuses much more on its look. Maybe, though, the look is the theme. Director Robert Rodriguez took on this project with Frank Miller and the final product is something remarkable. During the first ten minutes of the film I was laughing hysterically because I couldn't take ithow identical the movie was to the comics. It was almost as if I was seeing a miracle take place or a book come to life. Sin City is the first ever live-action comic book. It takes normal film-going audiences to a place they've never been before. For more than two hours it feels as if you are living inside the movie instead of watching it. There is the real world, the world of movies, and then there is Sin City. Entering the theater and watching this film is like taking a break from reality and letting your imagination soar. How has this happened? How can a film make one feel as if they're living inside a comic book? Sin City has done just that, it has revealed a true power of cinema and has taken viewers to a surreal dimension of art, and for thatSin City deserves to be a landmark.