SIN CITY

Cast: Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Clive Owen...
Director(s):Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino (guest)
Writer(s): Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller (comics)



Review Date: 04/03/05
Written By: suj
The Grade: 10+/10

THE PLOT_________________
An adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novels based in the fictional town of Basin City and its seedy residents.

THE REVIEW_________________
It’s very easy for someone to call a movie good or bad. But what happens when that one particular movie comes stumbling in that totally rattles you uncontrollably and makes every single bone shiver. A movie that straddles you onto the ground and continues to kick the living shit out of you punch after punch to the face till you become unrecognizable to your parents and to every one you love. And when your left on the ground all bloody this particular movie slowly pulls your pants down to your ankles and gives you the best blowjob of your entire life. A blowjob that would make the talents of Jenna Jameson and her troupe of cocksucking companions seem like childsplay. This meticulous scenario has come into play in the life that I lead and that particular movie whichI have mercifully come face to face with is "Sin City" and I welcome it with both a feverish grin and an enormous erection.

For a cat like myself and many other folk who have read this films source material (that being the graphic novels written and drawn to utter amazement by Frank Miller) I was deeply enthralled by news that Robert Rodriquez who is one of the coolest and one of my favorite filmmakers it the scene (just watch his films or his little 10 minute how-to extras implanted on his DVDs or hell just listen to the man talk he's fucking cool) along Frank Miller himself were going to adapt these fantastic works of literature to the wonderful facet of film. You see the SIN CITY novels come across as somewhat of a testament of the greater good the comic world has to offer. It’s from its pages that one is able to see that this medium people often make fun of and call “childish” has evolved into something truly breathtaking and memorable.

So, after watching "Sin City" twice in one day (Yes, I know I am a BIG fucking NERD) all I can muster up in this here little sentence of this here jumbled up words that will eventually make up one enormous salivating blob of total and utter geekdom is - this movie rocks....fucking hard. You really have no idea unless you've actually sat down and let your eyes be consumed by the marvelous images up upon the silver screen, it’s that fucking good! I mean it’s THAT fucking good.

What more can I say? This movie is a masterpiece. It's the most visceral movie experience I’ve had in a long while, as well as being my new favorite comic book movie of all time. I loved the books and its only fitting that absolutely loved this movie. If I could I would make sweet passionate love to it, undressing it inch by inch with my eyes and then slowing and surly fuck it like a movie has never been fucked before. Yes, I am a fucking weird-ass individual, it’s just that after watching this movie it as consumed with feeling of wicked excitement that I think will never leave my grotesque body.

The film adapts three of Miller’s yarns: THE HARD GOODBYE (initially just called sin city) which follows Marv on his quest for vengeance after Goldie, the one good thing in his life, is murdered next to him. THE BIG FAT KILL sees Dwight, a murderer with a new face, as he teams up with the prostitutes of Old Town to deal with the potentially fatal repercussions of killing dirty cop "iron" Jack Rafferty. And finally THAT YELLOW BASTARD where the only decent cop in Sin City, John Hartigan, squares off against Senator Roark as well as Roark's vicious, child molesting son Junior in an attempt to protect young Nancy Callahan. Additionally, these three stories are book ended with short scenes dealing with Josh Hartnett's hitman character, the first being a direct adaptation of the one shot "The Customer is Always Right" and the second being one made up for a nice fit to the films end.

Robert Rodriguez has crafted a film that is visually stimulating. The use of HD is virtually lush, with great, rich blacks, greys, and whites. It looks like the bastard son of all the great '40s noir films ever made and I mean that as a compliment. Not only does Rodriguez harness the HD technology to its glorious high, he also tops Kerry Conran and his digital work on Sky Captain. About 90% of all the sets in this movie are CGI'ed, but they feel oh so real. The characters interact with them, rather than around them. Also the movie feels like they just simply extracted Miller's comic’s panel by panel and brought it to life. Visually, it IS the comics, it even goes as far as using Frank Miller's signature white silhouettes that look beautifully striking on both page and screen. A fine example of this is when the Josh Hartnett character kisses Marley Shelton atop a balcony on a rainy night. I've always been a fan of Rodriguez's directing style, but here, it truly seems like he gave the camera to Frank miller and said "you know this world, you direct it." and Miller hit the ball out of the park.

What makes a movie great is not only in its visuals and story, but also the team of actors that band together and keep you enthralled to the very last frame. The actors within this fine film not only bring forth pleasing performances, but also bring to life the characters Frank Miller had created on paper.

Mickey Rourke as Marv is just fucking astonishing even Frank Miller proclaimed that "Rourke is Marv," and he's dead on in his assessment. Rourke is not only simply being faithful to the look and sound of Marv he also seems to captures the man's soul and it’s a wounded one at that. He makes us feel his pain in the loss of Goldie, his worries that he might be losing his sanity, and all of his primal anger. But, under it all, Rourke manages to make us see the essential good in Marv. In a way, it's almost like Marv is this tortured angel; a hard, scarred, tough as nails SOB, but with a good soul nothing can touch. With this performance Rourke is back with a vengeance, and should garner much acclaim for his work.

Bruce Willis, for the first time since Unbreakable seems really alive in his work. He’s magnetic, restrained rather than bored, and so intense in his pursuit of justice that you can't take your eyes of him. He’s weary, broken-down, and almost dead, but he knows what's right and will stop at nothing to do so. Willis's Hartigan is one of his best roles ever.

Clive Owen is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors in today’s scene and when news came that he was going to be portraying Dwight McCarthy (who happens to be my favorite character in the Sin City books) I was ecstatic. Owen exudes the characters essence and lack of a better word (if it is even a word) badassness. He captures Dwight's righteous fury like a professional and aces reading Miller's hard-boiled voice overs. After watching his performance I’m anxiously awaiting to see A DAME TO KILL FOR and FAMILY VALUES make its way to the big screen and even though the former sees pre-surgery Dwight I’m sure they can mustered up a little something for Owen’ face because to me and to many he IS fucking Dwight.

Now, on to the women of Old Town. The broads, the babes, the dames, the dolls, those gals who oh so made smile in delight at their presence, their beauty, and their viciousness. Jessica Alba is sweet and innocent as stripper extraordinaire Nancy Callahan and all too pleasing to the eyes. I just wished that Alba could have took the initiative to go all the way and make a direct adaptation of her character that being she goes topless. Because fuck, she does play a stripper in an R rated movie based on a fucking cool-ass Graphic novel that portrayed Nancy as THE stripper, but nonetheless I enjoyed her performance for what it was. Rosario Dawson on the other hand is just has the tagline on her poster reads - Beautiful and Merciless. She seems happy to be having fun while relishing the chance to kill lots of people and dress like the hottest bondage girl you've ever seen. Jaime King is a stunning beauty with shades of stunning brutality. Devon Aoki nails Miho dead on...literally. Brittany Murphy, though acting a little too overboard still manages to whist me away into her black bra and yummy boldness. Marley Shelton shined like a classy dame making her way through flashing cameras. Carla Gugino is subtle and sweet and the most naked dame in this flick. And then you have Alexis Bledel, who in my eyes steals the show right under all the gals of Old Town’ lethal feet. Her role may not have been big or juicy, but she displays herself as the classic femme fatale with such bitter sweetness.

To round out the cast you have Michael Clarke Duncan who always fares best in bad guy roles, and scores here as well. Rutger Hauer and Powers Booth are magnetic in their small amount of screentime. Also look out for Nicky Katt, who has the films most funniest moment, you'll know it when you see it. Then you have the three most menacing sleaziest villains of this here damn flick with the likes of Benicio Del Toro, Nick Stahl, and Elijah Wood. Del Toro is creepy, over-the-top, and I loved every minute he was on screen (the Tarantio sequence – Brilliant). The fact that he gives his all in a small role like this really shows the passion he has for the craft. Stahl is cornering the market on playing twisted young men and it's a tribute to his skill that Junior is just as hideous before his "change" as he is after. And Wood? I’m just gonna say that little Frodo Baggins is dead, with this one performance; he is simply terrifying and disturbing. And lastly there is Josh Hartnett as THE MAN, a hired gun, a hitman. For me, he oozes cool as the bookend character of the film, the character is charming in a way that Bond is, but this here is no James Bond. He is a sophisticated menace, clam in his cool, and deadly in his art.

SIN CITY is not like anything you’ve seen in theaters it is not like any comic book adaptation you’ve ever seen. Each panel is stripped down, each frame is saturated. This isn’t reality. The dialogue isn’t realistic. SIN CITY is populated with the subconscious credentials of those we deem anti-heroes. This is a vision of paradise decaying with grandeur and decadence. The characters spout out with force and erupt with the sort of high living and dying dialogue that gods speak before killing and fucking. This movie is all one can ask for a cinematic experience. Its the type of burgeoning killswitch to your five senses: burning your eyes till your pupil pops, pealing away your finger tips till the veins begin to pulsate, your eardrums collapse to the floor and flounder life a fish out of water, your nose seizes to smell that disturbing odor, and the taste buds on your tongue fall out one by as if it were snow in the early hours of the first day of winter. All of which then exposes your naked self into a new world, a thrilling experience, an ecstatic sensation. From the very first frame to the end credits this film dares you to watch through the gaps of your fingers, dares you control your bowel movements, dares you to seek out the urge to stand up and shout aloud at its pure glory. And as you exit the newly lit theater and begin to hearing all the chatter among your fellow patrons you leave with that naughty laugh swash buckled in the depths of your hell bent head knowing that you have experienced something meticulously profound.

Like a romantic movie playing in the background, rose peddles scattered along the floor, and a couch shared between lovers – you sitting in those uncomfortable theatre seats with Robert, Frank and the actors and artists on the screen – each celebrating the sheer joy of the experience. SIN CITY explodes to life like newly born baby, opening its eyes for the first time and seeing something magical.

Thank you Mr. Miller and Thank you Mr. Rodriguez.