Sin City Movie Review

Sin City (2005)

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Written by: Frank Miller (graphic novels)
Directed by: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino (special guest director)
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Powers Boothe, Rutger Hauer
Rated: R
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Plot
Stories of corruption intertwine in the fictional Basin City: a hoodlum seeking revenge for a dead prostitute, a truce hanging in the balance between cops and the girls of Old Town, and a cop having to protect a girl once again from the same assailant.

Verdict
Sin City has a unique graphic novel inspired look. The visuals, stories, and characters are striking. The movie maintains an intensity throughout, the stories overlapping just enough to tie everything together.
Watch it.

Review
I've seen Sin City before, but it's one of those movies I wanted to watch again to see if it was style over substance, especially since I didn't really like Sin City: A Dame to Kill (read the review).
The visuals look great. The contrast of the black and white and the hard lighting make this look like a graphic novel. It just wouldn't work in color, and it probably wouldn't work for any other movie.

The movie is heavy on voice over, but it hearkens to the comics and the film noir style.
Marv (Mickey Rourke) wakes up next to a dead prostitute, Goldie. She was killed while they were sleeping and the cops have been called. The action is larger than life as Marv bursts through the door and dispatches the cops. He goes to his favorite low life bar and vows to avenge Goldie for the sole reason that she was nice to him.

Sin City - A graphic novel brought to life in style and story.

The bar is the one location where the character's paths intersect. The stories, like the style is dark and twisted, with a lot of blood and gore. You'll soon realize this movie likes trench coats. Most characters have one or want one. It really does look great.
Shelly (Brittany Murphy), who we saw at Marv's bar earlier is with Dwight (Clive Owen). When Shelly's ex Jackie Boy (Benicio Del Toro) knocks down her door, Dwight puts him in his place. Jackie Boy and his crew travel to Old Town, where the women are the law and the cops stay out. Jackie Boy gets killed and it's revealed he's a cop. His death breaks the truce between the cops and Old Town unless they can dispose of the body.

Chasing a child kidnapper, Detective Hartigan (Bruce Willis) defies the warnings of his partner (Michael Madsen) and enters the building, subduing the kidnapper, Roark Junior, only to then be shot by his partner. Senator Roarke (Powers Boothe) convicts Hartigan for the murder of his son and the assault of the girl he saved, Nancy. Hartigan's only chance of parole is admitting he did it, which he refuses to do. Nancy writes Hartigan every week but when the letters stop he admits to all the crimes so he can get out and ensure Nancy is safe 
Sin City has energy, intensity and engaging stories that overlap, exploring revenge, redemption, and the twisted location of Basin City. While the look is distinct, it helps serve the stories. The problem with the sequel was weak stories. That, and the style of this movie is something you can only do once. Even in the sequel, which is the only movie that has a legitimate claim to reuse this style, it felt like a facsimile.