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Sin City
“Hell of a way to end a partnership.”

Movie: Sin City

Rating: Rated r

Rank:


Director and Writer: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller (co-director), and Quentin Tarantino (special guest director)

Release Date: April 1, 2005

Cast: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Clive Owen, Nick Stahl, Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, and Michael Clarke Duncan

Where do I begin and how do I start? This was the question that troubled me as I wrote. I was confused as to how I should write, and what I should say. My thoughts never did sound good enough and I had to rewrite in order for me to find the best of words. After worrying about what to do I decided to start at the beginning, where all stories start.

I’d never heard of Frank Miller, or his comic book series Sin City. I was just a young, cultural shocked teenage. Then, I became ecstatic after hearing so many profound things about this movie. When the film stopped rolling, a cold wave of astonishment took over and it still clings to me this very day. It was a marveling ride through a city full of crime and death; and damn, it was good.

Sin City takes three astonishing stories and wraps them up into one hair-raising film with effects out of this world. Shot entirely on green screen, it’s a change in Hollywood movie making. A black/white film-noir, with colors here and there, gives an atmosphere that’s unbeatably crisp and fresh.

John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) is a policeman at the end of his run with only one loose end to tie up; the kidnapping of an 11 year old girl. His story was my favorite among the three because I didn’t see an actor, but an actual person that was near the end and still fighting to survive. Willis gave a performance I hadn’t seen since Die Hard, and it was just stunning. It was as if Willis talked to his character giving him an unearthly understanding of John Hartigan and his quest.

Marv, the big ugly bloke you can't help but love, is played by the beefy Mickey Rourke. He is by far the heart and soul of Sin City; the tour guide as some people might say. The character helps you understand the alleys and creep joints of the big city. Not only does he have an uncanny understanding of the city, his story is told true to the comics. From the beginning, when he goes on his lustful revenge for a hooker named Goldie, to the shocking end he stays true to his comic book roots. An amazing piece of film requires an amazing character such as Marv, and damn, he was good.

Then, there’s Dwight. He’s what Sin City might call “Batman” or “Spider-Man”; or as close as one can get. He just so happens to be bad and good, mostly in between though. His history and inner self have yet to be reveled but, he does, however, give a good impression of a good guy trying to help the good at heart. Living in a world full of sin, one can only be so good. Hopefully, his roots will be discovered a bit more in a sequel.

It’s hard for one to describe Sin City and its sinning inhabitants. One can only hope to give a film such as this enough credit in a review. To amount to the level as such as it in words can only be so difficult. It’s astonishingly hard to amount to the film’s greatness in sentences or paragraphs. Hopefully these words can give Sin City the proper treatment of glory it deserves; damn, sin is good.