Sin City review

Sin City is a dangerous place to live. It ranks on a par with an old people's home in terms of life expectancy. Barely a moment passes in this ultra violent movie when someone isn't being killed in some innovative and ghoulish fashion. Like a live action comic, Sin City is a stylish and faithful cinematic interpretation of Frank Miller's graphic novels. Co directors Robert Rodriguez and Miller, along with guest director Quentin Tarantino, have captured perfectly the pulp fiction's noir feel and look.

Shot almost entirely against a green screen, the shadowy imagery is accented by the occasional use of colour to highlight a feature such as a girl's dress or lips. The comic book mood extends to the hard-boiled dialogue and violence, which borders on the laughable in its grisliness. The desire to so closely replicate the novels is paradoxically the best and worst thing about Sin City. While it's visually striking, once the initial awe has abated, neither the cartoonish characters or rudimentary plot sustain the same level of interest for the remainder of the film.

Inhabited by a rich selection of deviants, murderers and psychopaths, Sin City is a hazardous place. Men are tough-talking monosyllabic types with high thresholds for pain: both giving and receiving. The women, who are prone to wear very little or even less, are equally hard.

The film weaves together three overlapping stories, the best of them involves the disfigured vigilante Marv (Mickey Rourke) who goes on a murdering crusade in pursuit of the person who killed his beloved Goldie (Jamie King). Providing gravel-voiced narration, with utterances like "He's dead, he's just too dumb to know it," Marv's quest brings him into contact with Sin City's perverted dregs including a bespectacled cannibal (Elijah Wood).

Another story centres on Hartigan (Bruce Willis), a weary cop with a dodgy ticker. After saving an 11-year-old girl from the clutches of a well-connected pedophile (Nick Stahl), Hartigan takes the rap. He emerges after doing time and goes in search of the now grown up girl (Jessica Alba), but has to deal with her molester who has transformed into a grotesque yellow creature. The third story involves hunky hero Dwight (Clive Owen) who protects a leather-clad Gail (Rosario Dawson) and her band of hookers from a corrupt cop (Benecio Del Toro).

Mickey Rourke is a stand out as the lantern jawed Marv amongst a cast that obviously relish the opportunity to deliver their clipped, breathy lines in true B-movie manor. Rodriguez and Miller's bold and innovative vision has been realized to great effect. Sexy, funny, sick and stylish, Sin City is an exhilarating place to visit, though not quite for two hours.