A translation of Frank Millers acclaimed graphic novels. Three of Miller's stories make up the bulk of the film: The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard.

Rating: 10/10 (1 April 2005)

Sin City is an unabashed "translation" of Frank Miller's acclaimed comic series of the same name. I use the word "translation" because that is exactly what it is, it is merely the comic panels brought to life. And boy does it work, the dazzling visuals and powerful imagery create a vivid portrait of a city that no one ever wants to visit. The streets and alley ways are overflowing with corruption and perversion. The film presents its subject matter in unapologetic form, presenting the violence and garishness as it is, in your face and uncensored. Needless to say I loved every second of it. From the melodramatic dialogue (I feel like a palsy victim doing brain surgery with a lead pipe, a line Bruce Willis utters in one of his narratives), to the over the top characters (Elijah Wood's character, Kevin, being among my favorites). The movie, mostly in black and white, has sporadic splashes of color that are used to accentuate a part of the film. The blood was so vivid in some scenes you could almost taste it. Frank Miller has said that he uses color as a weapon, and nothing could be more true. I just hope that Hollywood sits up and takes notice, and starts to realize that it does not have to put out formula film after formula film, that inventiveness and art is not a bad thing. Walk down the right back alley in sin city and you can find anything, even a great film.