A visually stunning masterpiece in black and white

Rating: 9/10 (4 April 2005)

I walked out of this movie, wondering what I had just watched because there was so much in this movie. After reflecting back over the weekend I finally decided that I had to put some my thoughts out in the open. Hopefully you'll find them useful, or at least entertaining.
Taking pages from Dick Tracy, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill (both volumes), with the influences of the ultra-violent Japanese pulp films (no pun intended), Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller have re-constructed a graphic novel world that one will not soon forget. I intend to watch this film several more times to see how much I missed, because I believe this is a film that has so much going on just one viewing does not allow one to take in all the elements of the film.
From the score, the costumes (some of which were barely that), the characters, the lighting (yes black and white movies do have lighting effects, the transfusion of colors to enhance the significance of a scene or to foreshadow the future of the movie, and the scene sequence and how each was filmed.
Whether your interest is action movies, comic book based movies, or any other kind of movie - I think there is something in this movie for everyone (except the little kids). Some of the older people will remember the days of black and white serials, while others will remember the more recent movies like Hellboy and Kill Bill.
This is a movie to view, review and really think about. I haven't even finished thinking about it, but these are my first impressions. There isn't enough space here for me to really break out all the little nuances of the film. Enjoy the movie!