I have to admit to never reading this comic book, though I was a hug Frank Miller fan. What he did for Daredevil and Batman really revolutionized comics as I knew them at least, but eventually I ran out of money to spend on comic books (now I buy movies as you can see), so I never did pick up SIN CITY, and after seeing this movie I really wish I had. I am sure you have all heard the stories of how Rodriguez convinces Miller to co-direct this with him, and got kicked out of the DGA for his troubles. Well I think it was worth it.

Certainly this is a Frank Miller comic book come to life, with the same dialogue and shots as in the original source. It is ultra-violent, though the blood is white instead of black (actually the whole film is Black and White with the occasional color in) and with a stellar cast.

My father didn’t like it, he was hoping for standard Bruce Willis fare, but this is not that for sure. With no sets, only green screen this film is really something completely different than we have seen before. And my mother, the artist loved the film. Sure it is ultra-violent, but it is comic book violence, and she loved the visuals.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

Sin City is actually 3 stories, with a short teaser on the beginning making a 3.5th story.

With start with Josh Hartnett as The Man seemingly seducing a beautiful women with a dark past, but instead of taking her away he quickly kills her.

Then we have Hartigan (Bruce Willis), the only good cop in BaSIN City, with a heart condition, but out to stop a Senator’s son, Rourk Jr. (Nick Stahl) from raping and killing a young girl named Nancy Callahan (Makenzie Vega), but he is betrayed by his partner Bob (Michael Madsen), and shot many times. He wakes up in a hospital with Senator Rourk (Powers Boothe from DEADWOOD) telling him he will heal him and ruin his life, and kill anyone who he tells the truth. Little Nancy visits him telling him she loves him, and she will write him every week under an assumed named.

Then we cut to Marv (Mickey Rourke) a huge and ugly man who is being loved by who turns out to be a beautiful prostitute Goldie (Jamie King), but she is killed silently in the night by Kevin (Elijah Wood) a silent serial Killer. Marv is framed, but escapes to go find Goldie’s killer, running into her (she runs him down, though it is actually her twin sister Wendy) and many others he kills on his way to find the truth including his beautiful lesbian parole officer who gives him the drugs that calm him down. He goes to his favorite bar where Nancy dances and helps him, and a waitress named Shellie (Brittany Murphy) works. Eventually it leads to a huge conspiracy with Senator Rourk and his brother Cardinal Rourk (Rutger Hauer). Marv kills Kevin, cutting his arms and legs off and letting his dog eat him, except his face. Still Kevin remains silent. Eventually Marv tracks down the cardinal with the help of Wendy and her hooker friends like Gail (Rosario Dawson). He finds out the Cardinal was using Kevin who was absorbing hooker’s souls and was eating them with him, but Marv kills him, but is killed by the police.

Next we see Dwight (Clive Owen) a killer with a new face who is with his new girlfriend Shellie, when an ex boyfriend of hers named Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro) shows up to cause some shit. Dwight decides to follow and stop them from causing more trouble, but here’s Shellie yell what might be stop, or is it cop…. Dwight follows Jackie Boy into Sin City run by the prostitutes in a deal with the mafia and the cops. He runs into Gail who runs the prostitutes and her girls, specifically the Asian killer Miho (Devin Aoki damn is she weird looking or what?) who cuts off his hand and kills all of his friends before putting something in his gun to block it. Dwight tries to stop him, but he fires and the gun backfires sending the slide into his forehead. That is when they learn he is a cop, and killing a cop will end the truce and put Sin City into a war. Dwight asks for a good car with a huge trunk and a good engine to take the bodies to the pits (tar pits), but ends up with a shitty car, and Miho must cut up the bodies to put them in the trunk, but jackie Boy doesn’t fit and must be put in the front. Of course Dwight is pulled over by a cop, but he gets away with a warning for his broken tail light, even though he is hallucinating that Jackie Boy is talking to him because he is so nervous. Meanwhile Manute (Michael Clarke Duncan) takes Gail hostage to get her to help hand over the rights of Sin City. Dwight is ambushed at the pits by Irish mercenaries and almost drowned, but Miho save him, and he chases Jackie’s head and gets it. Taking the head to trade for Gade but it has explosives in it, and their is no proof because the prostitutes kill everyone and Dwight ends up with Gail, though they will never fully give themselves to each other.

Next we are back to Hardigan who has been imprisoned for 8 years, with a letter from Nancy every week, but finally the letters end, and after a month an envelope shows up with an 18 years old’s finger in it. Hardigan must get out and he confesses to everything, and is let free. His old partner Bob meets him and tells him his wife re-married. He goes to Nancy’s and the only clew are matches for a bar. He goes to the bar seeing Marv and Shellie, and finds Nancy (Damn is Jessica Alba fine, and I don’t like blonds) and realizes he was tricked and tries to escape with Nancy, but is taken by Yellow Bastard. He is hung, but escapes, learning Yellow Bastard is Rourk Jr. who was treated for losing his penis, but it made him stink and be yellow, and he is continuing his rape and murder. Hardigan escapes after telling Nancy not to scream and gets to the farm with Kevin. He finds Yellow Bastard and saves Nancy and kills Yellow Bastard with his fists, ripping his penis off. He promises to put Rourke Sr. behind bars, to get Nancy to leave, but instead kills himself to save his love, Nancy.

The final scene has The Man killing the prostitute who betrayed the rest of them in the Dwight segment and the killer from the beginning.

I loved this film. It is visually spectacular, and hardcore comic book action. Wow. I liked it so much, here are the rest of the movie posters. I can’t wait for the DVD and hope this film does well so they adapt more as Miller has said he is up for.

I waited on the DVD for this one until teh RECUT EXTENDED UNRATED version came out, which includes the first DVD, and has a second DVD with the full length versions of each segment, not edited together, so there are more in comic book form, and with extended footage, though nothing noteworthy, just more bridge material that I am sure was in the comic but does not at all seem important. The disc also has a good 12 minute doc on the making, the entire film in greenscreen and another doc on the film, as well as the original theatrical release which includes commentaries with Rodriguez and Miller, Rodriguez and Tarantino and an audience reaction. The coolest stuff is the stuff my Rodriguez on his own little empire, how he just got together people and started shooting, and how he built his own special effects company so he can push the edge. Very cool stuff, and damn wouldn’t that be fun to do?