Groundbreaking visuals in an outstanding film set to make a mark in history

Rating: 10/10 (20 April 2005)

Sin City is a truly extraordinary piece of film-making that astounds you with its visual flair, its tone-perfect cast and utter uniqueness.
Robert Rodriguez has once again, more so than ever, shown himself as a true visionary, not just in his realisation of this complex story but in his pioneering digital work.
It is a film that should rightly hold a place forever in history as the first that truly demonstrated what could be achieved with digital technology.
Like a living comic book (it really brings the comic to life in an exact translation that no comic-book film has ever captured before) with this film he has rewritten the possibilities of film-making.
Mickey Rourke and Benicio Del Toro stood out in an exceptional cast that was faultless. They handled the extreme delivery of very comic-book dialogue (unlike anything most directors would be brave enough to let on screen for fear of critical ridicule from the uninitiated or just those unwilling to let go of all they know about film and witness the birth of a new phenomenon) in their stride neither hamming it up nor toning it down. Even actors I am normally a little wary of like Josh Hartnett and Clive Owen put in strong performances while Elijah Wood is positively freaky.
The film as a whole truly infested my mind and made it impossible firstly for me to put into words how blown away by it I was but also to think about anything other than the film for several hours afterwards (I still can't shake lines and visuals from my mind a day later).
It's also fun to contemplate which scene Quentin Tarantino directed.
The use of the early, more jumping scenes was ingenious ahead of three longer narratives for initiating the style for people so that certain visuals, cartoonish laws of gravity, glorious costumery, etc didn't distract you in the main sections.
It is also one of those that begs to be seen over and over. It grabs you and doesn't let go almost making it impossible to take everything in. I can't wait to see it again, and own the DVD.
I think it is a film once seen never forgotten and even those who don't appreciate the style I am sure will see its place in history as groundbreaking new artistry.
I applaud all involved and hope Rodriguez continues to make films this visceral and exciting in the future.