Someone finally was able to mix Apples and Oranges...

Rating: 10/10 (3 April 2005)

I am a comic book fan. I am also a film/movie fan. And I mostly get involved when the two mediums cross over into one another. But, on occasion they disappoint. Let's take for example Daredevil. I think we can all come to the consensus as film fans that it was not a very well done movie, and us comic book fans register it up there as one of the worst Comic book movies of all time. But Sin City is in a world of it's own.
Before going to the movie, I hadn't read any of Frank Millar's Sin City books. I'd read some of the other stuff he'd done for Batman: Dark Knight, etc, and was impressed by his use of words. I had also seen once upon a time in Mexico, so I thought that the movie would be at least as good as Rodriguez's last film. But after 10 minutes in the theatre I was blown away.
The Shots were near perfect. I'd seen some pictures of the comic in the last Wizard Magtazine I'd been reading, and the panels from the Grapohic Novels look uncannily similar to what you see in the finished film, easy enough to do with a completely digital set. Also, the black and white element with certain things in color to show their importance, was another brilliant feat, and something that I will always wonder how they do in the film medium. So the visuals as I've said, I freakin' loved.
The Script is just as brilliant. It uses all of Millar's wordplay and beautiful descriptors while not having to resort to poor tactics that film usually employs that Comics usually can do in a Narrative or a thought bubble. But if you've gone to see the movie and wonder why there is so much narration, it's because that is how Millar does his comics. it's nearly all narrative, and it is something I believe that film companies are desperately afraid of. They fear we may get bored, walk out, hate the movie, but I think that they don't give us enough credit. If employed like Rodriguez/Millar did in Sin City, there is no time for us to get bored because we are glued to the screen 99.9% of the time.
Lastly, they no holds barred attitude toward the film sealed the deal for me. I only found this out after I'd seen the movie. Afterwards I went out and bought 3 Sin City graphic novels to see what else Millar had written and developed through these characters and was totally amazed at how much they had actually used in th movie. Usually in films about comics, the backgrounds are changed, or specific elements are made different so as to adapt it to our believability of the film. But with Sin City we are expected to use our willing suspension of disbelief and embrace everything that has been on the page that was then transferred to the screen. beautifully done, in my opinion.
Some of you may not like the certain points of dialogue where it sounds stilted, or cheesy, or campy, but the point of Sin City is to have it be Hardboiled Film Noir, and if you read up on the media Sin City (the movie and the Comic) is based on you'll see that it fits right in. Perfect in it's place. And I've also heard some complaints about following the storyline. And all I can say is either go see it again, or take each story as it comes on it's own, independent of ll the other 4. Either way, there is very little about this movie to complain about. Someone may pipe up bashing the fact that all the women in the film are prostitutes, but alas none as we know them.
The movie is a hardboiled, beautiful, visual festival of true comic to movie genius and I hope that people will find the movie as intriguing as I have. The creators of this fill have truly learned how to mix apples and oranges, and turn out a piece of art.
-JYH