Sin City - movie review

Sin City opened around the country on April 1st with an 18A rating. That restriction is considered the kiss of death in the U.S. and reports say that director Rodrigues pulled a few stylish punches to keep the kiddies in line down south. I can't imagine what those pulled punches were.

Sin City is rife with R-rated material - wanton killing sprees, gratuituous nudity, mutiple dismemberments - but then that's the point. The film navigates between three intersecting plotlines, and as the body count rises the thrill of the ride mellows into an impressed satisfaction. Details of the film's "look" were mass-media'd to death before the theatre lights dimmed but to actually witness it is another matter. It is, (frank miller-ly) incredible. The visual stimulation of melded live action and a noir digital world easily shames the "Sky Captain" experiment and gives this round to Rodriguez over Tarantino (who is credited as a "guest director" and whose own Kill Bill now feels so 2004 in comparison). Using only occasional colour flashes, the film runs entirely in B&W and has so much depth you can almost feel the shadows. The use of fluorescence to ink the bloody moments is startlingly effective. The monochromatic pallette helps to keep the visceral elements from becoming overwhelming therefore allowing you to remain within the experience as truly grotesque acts are perpetrated. Shock, disgust, incredulousness, lust, and awe will all be felt as you journey through Sin City.

Admittedly, I have never read the comics so I have no thoughts to offer on the film's faithfulness. I can, however, report that this strong a mix of characters hasn't been seen in quite some time - reading the opening credits is an orgasmic recognition moment for credit-reading freaks like me (Bruce Willis, Benecio Del Toro, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Powers Boothe, Britanny Murphy, Rutger Hauer, Nick Stahl, Josh Hartnett, Rosario Dawson, Micheal Clarke Duncan, Alexis Bledel, Elijah Wood, Jaime King, Micheal Madson and Mickey Rourke) - a lot of B-listers who bring their A-game.

First of all, Bruce continues to be THE man. They guy just oozes sex appeal with his deep crows feet carving smile lines down from his eyes. He can rescue me any day. Clive continues his streak of being the lout you lust after. It's hard to choose between the penetrating eyes and the gravel voice for which is more seductive. Thankfully, the film gives you plenty of both and tops it off with making him soaking wet (or covered in tar) for a good chunk of the action. Rosario deserves mention for a completely intoxicating performance of raw she-power and Elijah continues to corner the market on creeeepy. But the most rewarding touch has to be Mickey Rourke's stunning turn as an almost indestructable and morally bankrupt man on a revenge crusade. All the women have wide eyes, suckable lips and very few clothes. The men are either hell-bent on protecting the women or interested solely in destroying them. The story is a collection of collisions of the three.

Overall, the film charges along at a speeding pace and covers a lot of territory in two hours. The dialogue is text-box succinct and the action plays like illustrations come to life. Sin City is exactly what it was intended to be: a graphic novel in motion.