The Bleeding Edge of Reality

I’m not one for hype, and I’m sure not one for expecting that turning graphic novels by Frank Miller into a movie would work. So, I took the plunge and went to see Sin City last night, my expectations a mixed bag of “this could suck outloud” coupled with a slight anxiety and hope that it would be fine tribute to Frank Miller’s “Sin City” novels.

I went to the 7:15 pm show on a Sunday. At 6:45 pm I purchased my tickets, and asked the attendant how full the show was so far. He said this showing had 95% of the seats STILL AVAILABLE. “Oh man…” I thought to myself, …”this is going to be a bomb”, but something still gnawed inside saying “give it time, this is gonna be great!”.

Well, I have got to say that this was the most unexpected, most cutting edge, most incredible film I’ve seen in years!! An incredible cast of stars and amazing direction brings Frank Miller’s “Sin City” to life right before your eyes. The cityscapes are breathtaking, the art is amazing, and the integration of the characters is brilliant.

The list of stars who appear in the film is amazing. Benecio Del Toro, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba (does she EVER stop getting hotter?!?), Rosario Dawson, Michael Madson, etc, etc, etc…the list goes on forever. The women in this film look so amazingly gorgeous, at times it’s like a Victoria’s Secret ad. The film is engrossing from the very start and keeps you glued to the screen through the entire film, not a moment going to waste. The makeup, costumes, animation, and direction come together in a way that I’ve not seen in a film…ever.

The film is essentially a handful of stories tied together a la Sin City style, where initially the only tie to each other seems to be the backdrop of Sin City, and the dark violence that envelops everything within. There are small clues throughout the movie that indicate that at some point these characters will cross paths, and cross they do. I don’t want to do a full review here, or offer any “spoilers” as it were, but the film is roughly about cops vs. bad guys and how the lines of what’s right and wrong are seriously gray and blurred. Much criminal activity, lots of prostitution-based plot lines, again, very true to the Miller books. There are social overtones as well as personal vendettas, all coming together to create a very dark, very fanciful, and very engrossing film in which the intertwining plot is riviting, yet not so complex that you require a second viewing to define what just happened. The character development is flawless and the plot lines are tied together in such a way that the last moments of the movie really drive it home. There isn’t a dull spot or uninteresting point in the entire film.

Needless to say, this is THE MUST SEE FILM OF 2005!! Absolutely incredible…I’m still blown away. This is cutting edge stuff folks, and you MUST SEE IT on the big screen! I know I’ve got a date with the cinema for a few weekends to come.