Visually stunning

Rating: 5/10 (29 January 2007)

Extraordinarily stylish, probably one of the most visual films of all time. The cinematography, editing, and special FX are all top-notch. It's a shame the stories didn't quite live up to them. Taken on their own, each is fairly interesting, but there's no flow between them. There's slight cross-over, but not nearly enough. Because of this, the film sags in the middle of each tale, as each one drags on for a bit too long.
The acting is all over the place. Each of the three leads (Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis) give great performances, and their internal monologues sound natural. But none of the supporting players can match these three, as they range from over-the-top (Stahl) to wooden (Madsen, Alba) to downright lifeless (Murphy, Dawson). None of them seem able to convey the stylized dialogue naturally. Still, the performances of the three leads more than make up for them.
The real highlight here, of course, is the visuals. It's not just the black and white with flashes of colour, or the computer-generated backgrounds, or the occasional white silhouettes, its the combination of all of this to make a realized, live-action comic book. Every shot is stunning, and the fluid camera only adds to the beauty. Simply amazing.
All in all, an amazing film to watch, if only for the visual treat, that doesn't hold up nearly as well, because of the sub-par stories and acting. Still, an incredible accomplishment.