Sick but Sensational

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2005)

I feel guilty for loving this film, but there you have it. "Sin City" is "Pulp Fiction" with even less redeeming moral value. If you're easily offended (pretty much by anything), stay far away. Otherwise, sit back and revel in this movie's noir-soaked atmosphere.
I've not read the Frank Miller graphic novels upon which this film is based, but I've seen the illustrations, and I have to say that "Sin City" triumphs in bringing the look of the comics to the screen. I'm not usually a fan of style over substance (I seem to be one of the few that thought last year's "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" a dismal failure), but I could have watched Frank Miller's and Robert Rodriguez's stunning monochrome compositions all day. Not since Dorothy opened the door of her house on to a Technicolor Munchkinland has black and white cinematography been juxtaposed to color more effectively. The CGI effects are flawless, and a terrific and audacious pulpy score pulses throughout the entire film.
Three equally bizarre stories are interlinked, again a la "Pulp Fiction," and brought to life by a cast of not-quite-above the title stars: Mickey Rourke, Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen, Nick Stahl, Rosario Dawson, Brittany Murphy, Elijah Wood (creepy as hell!), Michael Clark Duncan. The only box office actor is Bruce Willis, who plays a role that fits him like a glove, that of the melancholy hero past his prime who wants to prove he's got one more knockout punch in him before he's KO'd for good.
The only reason this film rises above cheap titillation is that everyone involved with it commits 100% to a common vision of what the film should be. There's something admirable about the way the filmmakers refuse to compromise their (admittedly) disgusting visions to appease the moral conservatives, or to get a lesser rating, or to make more money at the box office. "Sin City" is a movie for adults that appeals to the thirteen-year-old in all of us, and what fun it is.
Grade: A+