One word? Rocks

Rating: 10/10 (12 June 2008)

I read the three full books from where the stories for this were taken before I first saw this at the cinema. I was thrilled beyond words by it then, and it still has that effect on me. This is probably best classified as noir(and my how they hit the nail on the head in how they do such a genre piece) with a shot of adrenaline. It is also the way to do a direct adaptation. Characters perfectly brought to life by a cast laced with star actors, all of whom hand in amazing performances. The tone fits that of the original material. And last, but not least, perhaps even most important: it is copied pretty much straight from the source. Frank was present during production and with Robert they put almost all of the comics on the screen. With the former's strong writing and the latter's knack for energetic direction, it's a recipe for success, and they do not let us down. The plot evolves nicely throughout, and is interesting for the entire running time. The pacing is spot-on, never letting you get bored, nor overwhelming you, in spite of the amount of cool stuff. The action, plain and simple, is awesome. There's a ton of it, and it's all well-achieved. The cinematography and editing are masterful. The humor, much of which is quite black, is great. Rodriguez throws in some of his cartoon-like bits, and they work. The score and music is all magnificent. The script is immensely well-written, and the lines are so memorable and quotable it's not even funny. There are some mighty violent and disturbing images herein, and unless you're certain you can take it, you may want to consider sitting this one out. There is also a good deal of nudity and sexuality, albeit it has been cut down considerably from the pages. There is rather little language, and what there is tends to be relatively mild. It doesn't feel restrained, in my opinion. You have to admire the guts and integrity it took to make this... anti-heroes and darkness aren't always received kindly by the masses. Among the DVD releases for this, there is the Special 2-Disc Edition... if you want my advice, I'd say to get that, if you're buying a copy of this. There are several featurettes, two audio commentary tracks(one with Miller, where Willis also briefly dips in, and one with Quentin Tarantino, and RR is on both), another audio track which is of an audience reaction(and they're all listen-worthy), and the extended cut adds some(although it isn't many minutes) of what was cut from the Theatrical(do also note that it splits the segments back up into separate ones), in addition to featuring that version, as well. The FAQ goes into more detail about exactly what is found of extras, as well as what footage remains missing. I recommend this to any fan of the graphic novels, Frank Miller and/or Robert Rodriguez. 10/10