A Brilliant,Ultra-Violent Visually Stunning Comic Book Classic.

Rating: 10/10 (17 January 2013)

Frank Miller's Sin City is one of the greatest comic book films of all time thanks to it's great direction,unforgettable characters,excellent cast,beautiful black and white visual style,great Hard-Boiled dialog and tough Film-Noir landscape. This film is one of my favorite movies of all-time,Robert Rodriguez's best film and not only a comic book classic,but a film classic in my opinion.
Based on Frank Miller's Graphic Novels of the same name and set in a timeless Black and White Film-Noir landscape,Sin City tells three violent,Hard-Boiled stories that shows us the world of Sin City involving Marv(Mickey Rourke),a brute trying to avenge the death of his one true love,a prostitute named Goldie(Jamie King)by any means necessary in The Hard Goodbye,smooth talking killer Dwight(Clive Owen)who wants to protect a gang of hookers from corrupt cop Jackie Boy(Benicio Del Toro)in The Big Fat Kill and Hartigan(Bruce Willis)an honest cop who wants to protect exotic dancer Nancy(Jessica Alba)from a Yellow Bastard rapist named Roarke Jr. Nick Stahl)in That Yellow Bastard.
There is many reasons I love Sin City and the reasons are the characters,Film-Noir dialog,Action,faithfulness to the Graphic Novels,timeless feel and visual style. True to the spirit of Film-Noir the male and female characters in the film,whether it's hardened criminals,corrupt cops,corrupt politicians,hookers or honest cops are very dark and cynical,existing in a violent world where the rules don't apply,everyone is dangerous and violence and brutality are the only way out. The three main characters(Marv,Dwight,Hartigan)are likable and you can relate in to each of them in their own way because of their motivations and reasons to why they do the things they do and you as the viewer are with Marv,Dwight and Hartigan as they go through their journey. The dialog by Frank Miller is masterful and unforgettable and said in a fast pace,quickness and wit,with Miller taking the Hard-Boiled style of Dashell Hammett and Raymond Chandler and taking it to new heights,where the characters speak in a style that is sometimes riddled with dark humor,one-liners and aggressive style. Each story(The Hard Goodbye,The Big Fat Kill and That Yellow Bastard)is terrific and unforgettable with each tale being different but just alike in tone,energy and execution that never stops until the very end. The narration is a classic Film-Noir trademark and this film embraces it,with the main characters speaking with a low-pitched,dark tone almost like the main characters are whispering in your ear almost as if you're with the characters in the film. The Action and violence in the film is well-done,brutal,bloody and over the top and fits with the style of the film and will have fans of the books foaming at the mouth. The movie's violence is stylish and over the top to the point where you are almost laughing,but be warned this film is not for the faint at heart or people with weak stomachs. What I also love about Sin City is how timeless it is,taking styles,costumes and talk from any decade and you're not sure of what time period the film takes place in. Is it the future or the past or somewhere in between time. The great thing is we'll never know. Robert Rodriguez obviously loved the material and stays true to the graphic novels with not just the dialog,but the Black and White visual style of the film. The tone,photography and visual style is beautiful,just like in the books,giving us a world where there is no sunlight and it's cloudy and rainy all the time where it is always night. The only brief time you see other colors is in red or yellow(you'll see). This movie is also one of the most faithful comic book movies I've ever seen because,like I said before Rodriguez loved the material and doesn't change anything for the film whether it's the violence,Action or dialog. You can hold the graphic novels next to the film and you won't see much of a difference between them. This movie took the words faithful and true to another level and I loved that Rodriguez stays faithful and true to the books and doesn't compromise the film and that's one of the things that makes Sin City a classic. The ending of Sin City is amazing and powerful because it's not only true to the Graphic Novels but to the genre Film-Noir with harsh violence,brutality and a tragic outcome. A terrific ending.
The whole cast does a great job. Mickey Rourke is excellent and at his best as Marv,my favorite character in my favorite story(The Hard Goodbye)in the film,with Rourke bringing toughness and grit to the role. Clive Owen is terrific as Dwight,a killer who loves to help the ladies. Bruce Willis is brilliant as Hartigan,an honest cop with a moral code. Willis and Film-Noir go together well. Benicio Del Toro is delightful as corrupt cop Jackie Boy. Elijah Wood is scary as silent cannibal killer Kevin. Nick Stahl is frightening and menacing as Rourke Jr.,That Yellow Bastard. Jessica Alba is wonderful and sexy as Nancy,a girl Hartigan has to protect. Rosario Dawson is beautiful and tough as Gail,the leader of gun toting hookers. Jamie King is good as twins Goldie and Wendy. Brittney Murphy(Sheille),Michael Clarke Duncan(Manute),Carla Gugino(Lucille),Rutger Hauer(Cardinal Roark),Powers Boothe(Senator Roark),Alexis Bledel(Becky),Michael Madsen(Bob),Devon Aoki(Miho),Tommy Flanagan(Brian)Nicky Katt(Stuka),Josh Hartnett(The Man)and Marley Shelton(The Customer)give good performances as well.
The Direction by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller is excellent,bringing a lot of energy and style to the film using great camera angles and moving the film at a wonderful pace. Great direction by both men. Also,Quentin Tarantino makes a special guest director appearance for the film.
The score by Robert Rodriguez,Graeme Revell and John Debney is great,stylish and full with energy and fits in with the tone of this film. Great score.
In final word,if you love Robert Rodriguez,Frank Miller,comic books,Film-Noir or the Sin City Graphic Novels,I suggest you see Sin City,an absolute classic of comic films and cinema and is a movie you can watch again and again. Highly Recommended. 10/10.