One Of My Favorites

Rating: 8/10 (24 April 2005)

What if there was a city where crime was accepted? Where hookers controlled one side of the city, and police controlled the other? There is no justice without sin, and that is the point of Frank Miller's Sin City.
Three intertwining tales of love, deceit, betrayal, and death are the segments told in Sin City. In one of the three, a brute feels the need to exact revenge on the people that killed the woman he loved and also framed him for the murder of her. In the second, a man and a group of hookers must try to prevent a war from erupting between them and the mafia. In the third, and final, story, an ex-police officer must protect an exotic dancer from a yellow madman.
The three main characters are Marv, an unstoppable hulk, Dwight, a man who must deal with a dead cop's body or have all Hell break loose, and Hartigan, an ex-cop who must protect an exotic dancer from an insane congressman's child-molesting son. Of course, there are other characters: Nancy, the exotic dancer who, over eight years, falls in love with Hartigan; Gail, the leader of the hookers and Dwight's love interest; Kevin, the cannibal that killed the only woman that Marv loved; Jackie-Boy, the maniac police officer; Yellow Bastard/Junior, the psychopath who plans to kill Hartigan and impregnate Nancy; and the enigmatic Businessman, who is a hit-man.
The genre is mostly action for Sin City. Even though the film is graphic (severed heads and limbs at every corner, and don't forget the excessive gun play), all of the violence is justified, and isn't just there for shock value, which is what I thought when I went to watch it the first time (for I've seen it twice). Upon watching it the second time, the violence did seem excessive, but some of it was still enjoyable (a character is shot through the chest with an arrow, points at it, and says, "Hey, look at this! Ow, that really hurts.").
So, now I must tell you my closing thoughts for Sin City. Well, what can go wrong when Michael Madsen and Nick Stahl are part of the supporting cast, and Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, and Mickey Rourke make-up the main cast? As I stated above, the actions are justified, and all of the characters are well-rounded and believable. I've heard of a Sin City 2 in production already staring Johnny Depp, and after seeing Sin City, I would see the sequel in a heartbeat. I was blown-away by the stories, the cast, and the special effects in the movie and would gladly see Sin City a third time.
My Grade: 97%