Sin City Reviews

giving this a 1/10 is way too much

Masterminded by Robert Rodriguez, Sin City is the most definitive filmic adaptation of a graphic novel to date. The movie was adapted from the pages of Frank Miller's similarly-titled comic book series, resulting in an indisputable masterpiece boasting gorgeously stylised visuals of a noir-esque world inhabited by ruthless characters and governed by violence. Indeed, Sin City is the ultimate proof that "comic book" does not always mean "for children", as this blood-soaked collection of stories are vile, repugnant and incredibly sadistic. Yet, for those able to stomach this material, Sin City is a blast from beginning to end. Not only this, but the film also serves as a compelling argument in favour of digital moviemaking (kick-started with 2004's Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow), wherein actors appear within largely computer-generated environments. Due to this, the film sparked an entire new breed of graphic novel adaptations, with the aesthetic being recycled for The Spirit and 300, just to name a couple.

"Sin City" is the appropriately shortened name for Basin City, the seedy metropolis in which the proceedings take place. The narrative packs together three tales from the graphic novel series - The Hard Goodbye, That Yellow Bastard and The Big Fat Kill - into one long narrative with only a minimal amount of overlap, and they are bookended by the short story The Customer Is Always Right. In one story, a hulking thug named Marv (Rourke) spends a night having sex with an angelic woman (King) who's subsequently murdered right next to him. Framed for the murder and vowing revenge, Marv seeks answers, leading him to a cannibalistic hitman (Wood) who's part of a larger conspiracy. The next story concerns Dwight (Owen), who goes on the trail of the immoral Jackie Boy (Del Toro) after witnessing him roughing up his girlfriend (Murphy). Dwight finds himself on the side of town run by armed prostitutes who are determined to defend their territory. And finally, aging policeman Hartigan (Willis) spends years in prison after saving young Nancy Callahan (Alba), and upon his eventual release he goes looking for Nancy before realising he has fallen into a trap orchestrated by the very same child molester he stopped years earlier (Stahl).

Brought to life practically verbatim from the pages of Miller's graphic novel series, the stories are admittedly familiar-feeling and unremarkable, incorporating typical noir tropes and conventional character types. Yet, the execution is incredibly effective in every aspect. No script was written and no storyboards were devised for Sin City - rather, Rodriguez let Miller's comic books function as the script and storyboards, taking the term "faithful adaptation" to a new and more literal level. As written by Miller, the dialogue and hardboiled noir-esque voiceovers crackle with lyricism and badassery, while the action elements were competently handled by Rodriguez (a veteran action filmmaker). Like the comics, Sin City is not for all tastes - an omnipresent sense of the macabre pervades practically every frame, not to mention there's a lot of exceedingly brutal violence and seedy underpinnings which will not be comfortably consumed by the easily offended or those with weak stomachs.

Visually and atmospherically, Sin City is a fucking masterpiece. Shot predominantly against green screen in order to seamlessly facilitate digital backgrounds, Rodriguez has meticulously turned Miller's black and white images into cinematic frames, and his affection for Miller's work shines through in every one of those frames like a fresh diamond. The visuals are predominantly black and white with small bursts of colour, resulting in a colour palette that's uniquely fascinating and beautiful. There are plenty of visual nuances to behold here, from the perfect use of shadows to the stunning stark silhouettes of various characters throughout. Topping this off is the immaculate pacing (the film is constantly enthralling and never boring), and a suitably memorable soundtrack. Frequent Rodriguez collaborator Quentin Tarantino is even credited as "guest director" - he directed the scene between Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro when they have an acting showdown in a car.

Of course, Sin City's excellence does not stop with the visuals. The movie's cast is equally terrific, and constitutes its second greatest strength. Despite the presence of big names, the cast seems like a proper ensemble rather than senseless stunt casting, preventing the film from degenerating into a "spot the celebrity" drinking game. Each and every actor suits their role to the ground, leading to a complete absence of weak spots. The highlight is Mickey Rourke, who was in career-resuscitating mode here. As the ruthless Marv, Rourke is a passionate scene-stealer, and this ranks as the actor's best work to date. Since Marv's story is the first to be told in its entirety, he sets the acting bar high, and is thankfully matched by his co-stars. Clive Owen is another highlight, delivering a trademark badass performance as Dwight, while Bruce Willis is extremely strong as the hardened, aging Hartigan. Despite Willis' Hartigan being a policeman, Willis did not abide by his usual John McClane-esque screen persona - this is something far edgier and darker. It would take all day to address every cast member, but, suffice it to say, they are all sublime.

Rodriguez considered Frank Miller's literature contributions to the film to be so major that he resigned from the Directors Guild and lost a studio project in order to have Miller be credited as co-director. This is a testament to his dedication in bringing Miller's visions to the screen in most faithful way possible. With its unique narrative structure, breathtaking visuals and badass noir dialogue, Sin City is an experience like no other. Not only will it please Miller's die-hard fans, but it will in all likelihood earn him new fans as well. Sin City is simply perfection, and it is difficult to imagine any fans of the graphic novel not being completely satisfied with this exemplary effort, especially with the availability of Rodriguez's recut & extended edition which presents each story separately in their entirety.

10/10

In 2014, after 9 long years, they finally came up with a sequel but, unfortunately, it seemed that nobody cared anymore and it was eventually a flop (or maybe it just stinks but I can’t judge since I haven't seen it yet). Anyway, when this first instalment came out, it had quite an impact and it became right away a cult-classic. At the time, I got pretty lucky as I managed to see it in the movie theater when it was released and I was seriously quite blown away by the damned thing. By now, I have seen most of the movies directed by Robert Rodriguez and, in my opinion, it is easily his best movie and I would go as far as saying that it is definitely one of the best comic book adaptations. Since then, I have actually bought the original Sin City comic books, those are great as well and I can tell you that this movie was a very faithful adaptation, probably the most faithful adaptation of a comic-book that you will ever see. Of course, the story was rather preposterous but, for once, it didn't bother me. To conclude, this flick just looks awesome and I loved the mood of the whole thing, I think it is a great achievement and it is definitely worth a look.

''My warrior woman. My Valkyrie. You'll always be mine, always and never. Never. The Fire, baby. It'll burn us both. It'll kill us both. There's no place in this world for our kind of fire. Always and never. If I have to die for you tonight, I will.''

This is THE comic movie we have been waiting for and it does not disappoint from the first overly dramatic voice-over to the last frame of the credit scroll. Telling three tales from Miller's world (The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard) the comic transitions from paper to celluloid, flawlessly merging together these worlds. This is especially incredible for something so over the top and stylized like this, that it's almost hard to imagine that these are the actors you've grown to know and love for years. But they are and it all comes together beautifully.

The cast, crew, and artists involved in making this adaptation a reality should be commended for their service to the idea that a true comic book movie can, in fact, be made without making concessions to the masses, without altering the plot or changing the characters, and still manage to retain the feel that the ink on paper had while creating a truly entertaining film. Much of this film's success can be directly contributed to the fantastic casting job which encompasses an incredibly long list of a-list and up and coming celebs plus a few obscure but cult favorites, I'm talking to you Rutger; Who pulled off appearing in this and Batman Begins in the same year, plus the tag team direction of Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez should be particularly touted for pushing Miller to finally do this project, and for leading the way to make this the film that Miller always wanted it to be and that Rodriguez knew he could make.



''Deadly little Miho. She won't let you feel a thing unless she wants you to. She twists the blade. He feels it.''

The music is amazing and stylish, narration perfectly delivered, Rosario Dawson & Jessica Alba drool inducingly sexy!
Miho, Jackie Boy, Nancy, Gail, Manute...Loving all the Character's who come to life next to their comic-book representations. All three stories within Sin City are well knitted together here, will be interesting when the sequel comes out as it is a prequel. The Story and book aptly named A Dame to Kill For, will interestingly enough be the source material for Sin City 2. So expect Manute, Dwight and Gail to appear again and also characters you thought wouldn't be seen again. The concept of Sin City seems to be a paralleled thought, similar to the matyring heroes of 300. As with Frank Millar's mindset, we see through his work what he's truly thinking. Ironically we are all dead men, even our heroes, and this cannot be stressed enough in-between the lines of Sin. What makes it stand out further is that the town is corrupt but to stand up the corruption, a hero must do something sacrificial in defiance of the immoral villainous nature of it's denizens.

I'd also advise getting hold of the EXTENDED RECUT special edition immediately! Remember in the Cinema, the beginning, the gun Josh uses. It was silenced! Now in this version it's restored to how you saw it in theaters. Each Comic book Story can be seen in order,That Yellow Bastard, The Hard Goodbye,The Big Fat Kill & The Customer Is Always Right. It gives us the viewers more choice and flexibility, as if you're reading the actual novels themselves. Extra footage really adds unparalleled depth to an otherwise perfect adaptation.
Amazing Extended scenes, should be owned by any lover or fan of Sin City.
Dark noir Graphic Novels from Frank Millar directed by Robert Rodriguez.
Also a special mention to Tarantino for that marvelous scene with Dwight & Jackie Boy in the car.

"Hell's waking up every goddamn day and not even knowing why you're here."

"Never give an Irishman a cause for revenge."

"Better come clean with ya now, sweetheart. That was an outright lie I was giving ya about me revolver being wet. You see, I'm not too fond of shooting. It's my preference to blow things up. Once you blast the roof off a pub, and see all the parts flying off people, a little bang-bang's never going to match the sight of that. And here I am with all these fine grenades, and such a sweet beauty of a remote. But it's my knife I'll be doin' you with."

Sin City equals a Graphic Novel masterpiece. Original and noir drenched style on speed and then some.
Though Sin City has been claimed to be a guy film, I don't see why women cannot enjoy it too and know a fair number of women whom love it just as much as the next man. Yes, most of the women in Sin City are essentially prostitutes, but these women are just as powerful and iconic as the men and they defend their own territory, their own kind with unrivaled resonance. They are not portrayed only as mere sex objects.
Everything finely fits together in Sin City. It's Rodriguez's best work to date. Everyone involved in the making should be commended for their effort that's wonderfully captured. It's certainly not a film to sit down with the family (Yes, it's deservedly and strongly rated 18) but a great piece to view with friends or company. I'm eagerly awaiting the new installments of the saga by Frank Millar and helmed directorial wise by Robert Rodriguez.

''Aim careful, and look the devil in the eye.''