Cool and Violent. Review on Sin City Movie

I'm not a graphic novel kinda gal. So I was sheepishly oblivious to the Frank Miller tag that came with Sin City, the film version of the comic book series. But I picked it up merely because of Quentin Tarantino 's association with the film, as its guest director. With both the Kill Bill movies featuring in my list of favorites, I assumed Sin City would be no different.

Set in fantasy world, or perhaps the comic strip world, the film is technically superior. In addition, it brags of an impressive star cast, with actors like action daddy Bruce Willis, Dark Angel Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Josh Harnett, Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Benicio Del Toro and Michael Clarke Duncan among others.

Let me begin by warning you. This film is not for the squeamish. Set in a dark part of the world, you meet its main protagonists, who kill, chop, and cut without batting an eyelid. It opens up with cop Hartigan trying to rescue 10-year-old Nancy from the clutches of paedophile Roark Jr (played by Nick Stahl). He saves the girl, but gets framed for her rape, and is put in prison for several years. The girl grows up into a stripper at the same bar that is frequented by the hulk Marv.

Marv isn't the best looking man in the state, and so he is understandably surprised when he recieves the beautiful Goldie's attention. His one night of complete bliss ends with her murder; one that he promises to avenge. His trail leads him to the dreaded farm, which is closely guarded by a seemingly harmless Kevin. However, the quick and agile Kevin isn't as harmless as he seems. He kills and eats his victims, only to eventually get eaten by his own dog. Argh!

Marv gets his revenge, but he is caught and eventually put to death. Ofcourse they have quite a bit of trouble killing the man who survives several lashes, bullets, and quite a bit of unbelievable comic-strip violence.

Then, we get a glimpse of Sin City's other good guy; Dwight. Dwight gets into quite a bit of trouble, when he follows Jackie Boy, a cop harrasing Dwight's recent love interest. Jackie Boy gets killed, poked, chopped, but continues to remain chatty all through the ordeal, getting Dwight into quite a bit of trouble. Dwight finds himself in the midst of a gang war, and back in the arms of his true love; hooker Gail.

Meanwhile, Hartigan gets out of prison, in an attempt to find Nancy and make sure she is alright. He realises too late, that he has led Rouke Jr-cum-Yellow bad guy to Nancy. He rises to the occassion again and saves the pretty Nancy again. But he realizes he can truly save the love of his life, only if he gives up his own.

Gruesome, cool, sylish, and even funny in portions, the film is in black and white, with a hint of color in several frames. This technique perhaps makes the violence bearable, because it has everything unimaginable. You see chopped/sliced heads, gorged out eyes, eaten hands, severed bodies, the groin area being shot and pulled out, sharp objects being conviniently put through bodies, and heads being shoved down toilets. And..despite all this terror, people don't die easily!

However, despite all the bloodshed and gore, you can't but help love the main protagonists. Hartigan is the ultimate hero who sacrifices his life for a young girl, and Dwight is the hero with a penchant for taking risks, for the greater good. But my favorite character was Mickey Rourke as Marv; the lovable, unattractive, hulk with a kind soul. You cheer him on till the very end, and can't but help snigger silently when he passes a snide remark on surviving the electric chair the first time.

The film is very stylishly shot, and you get through it because it feels like a very gruesome comic book. Directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, the film is produced by Produced by Elizabeth Avellan, Frank Miller, and Robert Rodriguez, for Dimension films.