Western Oregon Journal

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Bloody, horrific, gruesome, fast-paced, clever, sexy, cruel, sinful: too many words to describe Frank Miller's new comic book/short story adaptation, Sin City. This film never ceases to shock the audience, starting from the first scene to the very last. Combining the unique filming technique with superb acting, Sin City turns out to be quite the enjoyable thrill ride. However, be forewarned: this movie is a sick, twisted blood bath and it lives up to its title and is definitely not for squeamish sorts. It's inevitable that Sin City is turning heads as well as stomachs.

Hartigan (Bruce Willis), Marv (Mickey Rourke) and Dwight (Clive Owen) are three hardcore men with a story to tell. Hartigan just wants to save innocent little Nancy Callahan's (Jessica Alba) life from all the sick perverts in the world, Marv wants to seek revenge on a cannibalistic psycho-muderer who killed his precious Blondie (Jaime King) and Dwight just has to get rid of Jackie Boy's body somehow to save the strippers from enslavement. All three men are virtually unstoppable when it comes to completing their task and it would take a steamroller and the tightest knot in the world to kill them-literally! Add that with a whirlwind of assorted deranged people and one twisted “super-hero” movie is created.

Sound crazy? That is because it is. Not for a long time has a movie been made to this level of cantankerous magnitude. Anything bad that comes to mind appears in this movie: prostitution, murder, cannibalism, shameless nudity, crime; it's the whole package. Picture Pulp Fiction mingled with Batman and there stands Sin City. It breaks all the rules that society has set, which is what makes it so terrific.

The casting of Sin City is very vast and filled with an assortment of talents. The ever-impressive Willis shines as the tender-hearted Hartigan, Alba is notable as sweet Nancy and Owen makes a convincing badass, but it is Rourke who really steals the spotlight from the other cast members. Rourke plays the deformed, superhuman criminal of Marv who will stop at nothing for love so well that one can't help but feel sorry for him even though he is performing a multitude of horrific crimes.

Elijah Wood has not one line in Sin City, but that doesn't affect his performance. He is very creepy as the bloodthirsty cannibal Kevin and it is such a large shift from his sweet, innocent boy role that he always plays. However, it is quite hard to see him as actually being a murderous man-eater in this film because what many will see when they look at Wood is a short, hairy-footed hobbit, which is quite far from scary.

Benicio Del Toro must not be left out on his performance of Jackie Boy. Barely recognizable, Del Toro hasn't been this repulsive since Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He plays the part of a sleazebag better than any actor in Hollywood! Jackie Boy is rude, disrespectful and disgusting and Del Toro nails the part with no struggle.

Finally, the most notable feature of the movie has to be the unique way that it is filmed. The movie itself is in all black and white, but with bits of color in parts that seem critical or important. This is artistically done and reveals an old fashioned feel of the movie.

A final note: Only watch Sin City if cruel behavior is not a bothersome trait. The “R” rating it received is vividly justified. But have no fear-this movie is not all about blood, guts and sex-it is also quite humorous, which makes it that much more enjoyable. Definitely not a waste of time or money.

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