Welcome to Sin City. This town beckons to the tough, the corrupt, the brokenhearted. Some call it dark. Hard-boiled. Then there are those who call it home. Crooked cops. Sexy dames. Desperate vigilantes. Some are seeking revenge. Others lust after redemption. And then there are those hoping for a little of both. A universe of unlikely and reluctant heroes still trying to do the right thing in a city that refuses to care. The central story follows Marv (Mickey Rourke), a tougher-than-nails street-fighter who has always played it his way. When Marv takes home a Goddess-like beauty named Goldie (Jaime King), only to have her wind up dead in his bed -- he scours the city to avenge the loss of the only drop of love his heart has ever known. Then there's the tale of Dwight (Clive Owen), a private investigator perpetually trying to leave trouble behind, even though it won't quit chasing after him. After a cop is killed in Old Town, Dwight will stop at nothing to protect his friends among the ladies of the night. Finally, there's the yarn of John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) -- the last honest cop in Sin City. With just one ticking hour left to his career, he's going out with a bang as he makes a final bid to save an 11 year-old girl from the sadistic son of a Senator... with unexpected results.
Based on the Sin City graphic novels by Frank Miller.

I have a hard time seeing how anybody could not be blown away by this movie especially if you are a lover of film. The movie is so rich with story and character development that it almost seeps out of the screen. I think most audience members will walk away with a favorite story line and character whether it be Marv the tough as nails fighter with a heart of gold, or Hartigan the lone bright spot on a corrupt police force, or the flawed but ultimately good Dwight. Each story arc is so rich and deep that you are drawn into Sin City where there are so many tales of good and evil that they crisscross in a patchwork that makes up the very city itself. The movie is the story, it is the characters that make up the story and it is a tale of good versus evil set in the background of a city as rich as the stories that are told about it.

You could rave about the movies beauty as well, the film noir effect, the black and white and the color mixed in that gives the movie its depth and it richness. The use of color is a story in itself the tales may be black and white, good versus evil but the characters and what they bring to the tales are the color, they are that splash of red on an ordinary gray wall, the blood that has gushed out from the battles fought within and without. Its Goldie’s bright light, her golden color that shines on Marv’s heart and makes him wage a battle for her, it is her goodness her color that seeps into him. Granted there are some who may be turned off by the violence and the gore and the ultimate brutality that is the film, but like the characters who revel in it I too reveled in the violence and the brutality and the cost of waging war against evil.

The movie also has the most stellar cast of actors that it is impossible to even know where to begin when talking about their performances. My favorite was easily Mickey Rourke and Marv as he brought a savagery to the film and like the film says he would have been home on any ancient battlefield wielding an axe to another man’s face. He is abrupt, he is passionate and it all fits the character of Marv so well. Then there is Bruce Willis and Hartigan as Willis captures the trouble cop who on his last day of the job just wishes to save one more life. Clive Owen and Dwight the most complex character and performance of a man fighting a battle simply because the battle was before him. Or Elijah Wood the maniac killer who faces off against Marv’s brutality with skill and speed, his silence and his calm speak volumes about the character. It should be easy to see that I was enamored by the film drawn in by its depth and stories and I can’t wait to see it again, although I’d warn all parents this movie is not meant for children as it is violent and bloody.
5 stars out of 5