MASTERPIECE!!!

'Sin City' is, in my opinion, one of the best movies of 2005. The film is an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novels (who also guest co-directed), and the result is a very stylishly shot, with a perfect cast, film noir with a faultless script.

Prior to viewing this film I had no knowledge of the graphic novels, but the wave of great reviews it received was the thing that urged me to see it. Before viewing I had no idea what to expect, but as the film started I could not take my eyes away from the screen and I was instantly hooked. Film noir isn't my thing, but the excellent visuals made me forget completely that this was film noir and I just laid back and enjoyed the brilliant narration by the central characters while watching a blood-bath of a movie. The film is exceedingly gory, with lots of limbs being sliced off and people getting blown to bits (although I usually abhor violence in movies), but it was the intelligent script, with the inventive visuals and classy construction that really made this a winner!

The film is made up of many stories, but all are connected in some aspect and they are all set inside the comic book world of Sin City; a world of low-lifes, pimps, hookers and whores that spill onto the big screen in a pool of red, white and yellow blood. The first tale is the tale of Hartigan (Willis) - a soon-to-be ex-cop who’s pushing 60. He's been working on tracking a child rapist named Roark (Stahl). Roark has recently kidnapped an 11-year-old girl named Nancy (played by Vega when at age 11) and Hartigan makes it his task to find Roark and save Nancy. After saving Nancy, Hartigan was shot many times and ends up in hospital, followed by gaol. When finally released he goes to find Nancy (now played by Alba), but things go wrong. The second tale is of Marv, a thug. After sleeping with a hooker who gets killed, Marv vows revenge and stumbles across cannibal Kevin (Wood). The final story is of Dwight (Owen, in a brilliant performance) who assists the hookers of Sin City in killing a corrupt cop named Jackie Boy (Del Toro) who has a penchant for violence.

The three stories are taken from the pages of Miller's graphic novels and the transformation works astoundingly well! This is one of those films you must see because it's too brilliant to miss! If you haven't yet seen it - do so!

10/10