Let this one go and you'll regret it for the rest of your life

Rating: 10/10 (3 April 2005)

Walking into the theater to see Sin City, you likely fall into one of two camps: (a) those who think (nay, know) the movie will be one of the most spectacular films since Kill Bill Vol. 2; or (b) those who think it will likely be a waste of hard-earned green. Place this reviewer firmly in the former band of movie-goers.
Director Robert Rodriguez and co-director Frank Miller, creator and author of the original graphic novels, clearly show their love for the original works. Frame by frame, one could flip through these novels and find the corresponding frame in the film. While Spider-Man, Hulk, and Daredevil were comic book adaptations, Sin City is the original comic amplified and given a shot of Red Bull and Absinthe.
Those who have doubts about the completely digital nature of the film should not fret. Sin City is almost universally convincing as a living, bustling place that a normal human being wouldn't want to be caught dead in. There are only a handful of occasions that one can notice that a green screen was used. But seriously, who cares? When the action is on, it moves at one hundred miles an hour. This movie is not for the faint of heart (or stomach). It's gritty, hard-boiled, and everything a good noir flick should be. And when the characters trade barbs with one another or narrate through their thoroughly FUBAR situation, we get the feeling that what we are witnessing is cinematography and script-writing at its finest (indeed, the vast majority of the lines are lifted straight from the comics).
The acting here is top-notch, but there are a few actors that outshine the others: specifically, Mickey Rourke as Marv, Bruce Willis as Hartigan and Clive Owen as Dwight. All three of these actors are thoroughly convincing in their respective roles. We feel their anger, their outrage, their despondency. They get shot, punched, bitten, and generally pummeled but still get back up to fight a few more rounds. And we can't help but cheer them on. The three graphic novels used to make up this movie take the viewer on a roller coaster of profanity, violence and (admittedly gratuitous) nudity.
Sin City is a movie for film buffs, comic book geeks, and violence-obsessed Tarantino fans alike. Watch it, absorb it, and toss it over in your mind, just as you might if you were to pore over the graphic novel.