"She doesn't quite cut his head off. She turns him into a Pez dispenser."

Rating: 10/10 (22 February 2012)

Frank Miller is a graphic novel icon, his works becoming ever more popular due to the advent of numerous film adaptations. Probably one of the finest ever offered up to an audience has been "Sin City". I'd just like to note that while I definitely enjoyed the theatrical cut of the film, I prefer the extended cut. The special edition DVD (I thoroughly believe that blu-ray is a very big scam, and all I indulge in is the blu-ray player itself seeing as they boast it upgrades DVDs to 1080p regardless) allows you to watch each of the four stories in their entirety without the intercutting and you can watch them in any order you like. That being said, my personal favorite of the stories would have to be "The Hard Good-Bye", which stars Mickey Rourke as the bad-ass Marv who is after the murderer of his star-crossed lover Goldy (Jaime King). He's the probably the most masochistic of the protagonist (though rightfully so considering what he's up against) yet he still comes off as a very likable and you could say almost heart-warming character. Even though I enjoyed the "Lord of the Rings", I never cared for Hobbits but here Elijah Wood is fitting and plays the role of Kevin quite awesomely.
The movie has one of the greatest cast ever assembled, starring the likes of Nick Stahl, Carla Gugino, Bruce Willis, Rutger Hauer, Rosario Dawson, and yes even Jessica Alba in one of her few good roles. The world set up by Miller is brought to screen by Director Robert Rodríguez who does have a knack for stylish action films. One thing I definitely want to say is that of the many, many comic book and graphic novel adaptations Hollywood produces each year, this is probably one of the most panel-for-panel accurate ones out there. I would know, as an avid reader of Miller's work. The film, in a similar fashion to say "Mulholland Drive" or "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm", is a neo-noir treat, which if you're a classic film buff should be easy to see with its snazzy dialogue and distinct use of shadows. Plus the score by John Debney and Graeme Revell also alludes to this nicely. The use of CGI is elaborate but necessary to make a unique presentation for the visuals, which as I said before matches the books perfectly, right down to the awesome use of color.
The tales being told are violent, sensual but an awesome film experience not to be missed.