One of the Sins of this film is that it ended

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2005)

Whew. Finally a memorable movie this year. It is a different movie, a stylish movie. I really love the fact that it is in black-and-white with bits of color. It really reinforces scenes, detail, and meaning. The direction was marvelous as were the visuals. The acting was good and the characters were convincing. I followed through this film and it was one heck of a ride. Let me say this though: I have not read the comics. It was probably why I did not care to see this film even after the second trailer. But after reading up on it and finding out some details about the film and comics, I ended up thinking that I should give this a shot. Heck, the black-and-white gave me more of a reason. I already knew the direction and cinematography were going to be amazing. I was not wrong. This modern film noir is very entertaining to watch and the jazz music sets the mood and tone just right. People will say that there are no characters with heart in this movie, but I will have to disagree. Yes, everyone is corrupt (maybe with the exception of Nancy). Yes, nearly everyone kills someone. But we actually get a sense of these characters and root for the "good" ones--the heroes--to get what they want. That is what a good movie is about. Having not read the book, this must have been one great adaptation because everything went smoothly and I did not get confused and I was not full of questions. The three stories are intermingled and they do connect somehow, and I thought that was interesting. Everyone is basically a strong character in his/her own way, and that is one strength of this movie. Enough praises though. I am sure that you have read all the praises possible for this. I will go on to the few negatives now. Sometimes you will be able to tell that the background was generated and lose the authenticity of the setting. You start to remember that this was all done on green screen. Some other slight flaws are too insignificant to mention here. One of the Sins of this movie is that it ended. Yes, even with the few "bad" features this movie has, you bypass them and enjoy watching. When it was about five minutes toward the end, I actually wanted it to keep going. But hey, I was satisfied. To end off, I want to say that YES, this film is extremely violent and disturbing with characters killed and tortured in almost every way possible. So if you could not handle something like Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction, you will not be able to endure this one. But if you liked the above movies, you will be able to endure and enjoy this one =)
7.9/10 Stars