Sin City

I hate to give the "oscar rating" so early, but this movie was nothing short of fantastic.

When they say that Sin City is an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novels of the same name, what they really mean is that it is an exact replica of the novels. Watching Sin City, the viewer literally feels like he is watching the comic book come to life on the screen. Style, dialogue and scenes are all perfectly replicated in the film to an extrodinary degree, but amazingly enough it seems to work. The movie follows three of Frank Miller's novels, "The Hard Goodbye," "The Big Fat Kill," "That Yellow Bastard," and short story, "The Customer is Always Right." Unlike comics such as Spiderman, which feature one main character in a multitude of adventures, Sin City takes the reader into a variety of situations, each delving into a specific character and his innermost thoughts and motivations. I think perhaps that this is why the movie works so well with the direct adaptation--instead of trying to adapt an entire series of adventures surrounding one major character, Robert Rodriguez only has to adapt several ministories into one film. He can therefore avoid summarizing the storylines and take the content directly from the books.

The storylines center around several different characters: Marv (Mickey Rourke), the burly tough guy who is almost impossible to kill, seeks vengeance against the man who killed his only love, Goldie. He kills more and more people, desperately trying to get to the man responsible for it all. Dwight (Clive Owen), in an effort to protect the highly independent and badass women of Old Towne from the violent and misogynistic Jackie Boy, draws himself into a turf war between the mob and the scantily clad women over Old Towne. And Hartigan (Bruce Willis), an honest cop on the eve of retirement, defies death and his bad heart to save little Nancy Callahan from a ruthless pedaphile/murderer, who happens to be the son of a corrupt senator.

These stories are so impeccably told, and the actors portray the characters so well, that one hardly even notices the two hours slip by. The movie is shown in black and white, with small bits of color highlighting things here and there--red lips, blue eyes, blond hair, blood, etc. The internal monologue of the major characters helps the viewer really identify and understand the motivations and thoughts behind each action. Once everything is put together, the viewer walks away with a feeling of absolute awe. Honestly, this movie is one of the best I've seen, and even if you don't enjoy comic books, the stories themselves are great and the characters likable. This movie has all the elements of a great film, and yet it is something entirely new. There's really something in this movie for everyone--if you appreciate good style and creativity then you'll love it. If you like action and nudity then you'll definitely love it. And if you're a fan of the comic books or appreciate a good story, then this movie will blow you away.

Either way, don't wait another weekend to see this movie!