Tribute to film noir with a mesmerizing visual style

Rating: 10/10 (31 July 2013)

Film noir. A genre often about violent men stuck in a corrupt, crime-ridden city filled with menacing thugs and succubusses. The main character's situation is often a result of past mistakes, current mistakes, or just plain bad luck. This genre has been revamped over and over again, but not with such a strong flare as "Sin City." The movie itself is not only an example of the popular genre, but it is also like watching a comic book brought to life. Based off of the short stories from Frank Miller, "Sin City" is a unique tribute to the good old crime films combined with the visual style that Zack Snyder and "The Spirit" has copied from--desaturated tone, with strong emphasis on bright colors like red for blood, blue for eyes, and yellow for well...the yellow bastard.
To explain the story of this movie would be like trying to read its outline aloud. It is not necessarily complex, on the contrary, it is straightforward. The best way to put it is a collection of four stories spread out through the two-hour film, and they are somehow tied together. Sounds very similar to Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." This is not surprising since he was a "guest director" for the film. That aside, the pace and various plots are never dull or pretentious. Each separate plot stands on its own yet has the magic to relate to the movie's whole picture. All very good I say.
The all-star cast makes this movie very impressionable. Mickey Rourke stands out very strong. The hard-ass he plays feels so in character for him, like with his wonderful work in "The Wrestler." It may seem unfair to mention Rourke first. However, each actor, no matter their length of screen time, fits their characters with sublime perfection. Willis, Owen, Wood, Duncan, Dawson, Alba--all of them match Rourke's caliber in this film.
In short, "Sin City" is a great movie for people with an acquire taste for comic books and film noir. The down-to-earth people who like to stick with romantic comedies and conventional action flicks may not like this so much. "Sin City" is not meant for everyone. It is full of gratuitous sexual content and bloody, stylized violence that ranges from cartoonish to borderline sadistic (cannibalism and castration are actions that are explored). As a viewer who relishes such debauchery put to the extreme though, I love it. A fun, visually gripping, and on occasion ridiculous, "Sin City" succeeds. It is unfortunate that Rodriguez did not take home an Oscar for Cinemaotgraphy.