Sin City

When you consider movies like the Matrix Trilogy you have to confess that they did not do anything new.

What they did was to overload the entire concept with style (at least the first movie did).

Style is not something Hollywood manages to do very often.

It either bogs down into hopeless emotional mishmash that might as well be produced in Bollywood or it will go overboard in its cold bloodedness.

The middle ground is not easy to find and it often takes a different sort of personality to kick Hollywood's dying embers and rekindle the fire.

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Frank Miller.

Sin City is rather old, released in 2005, but I still cherish my copy and watch it about once a month.

The movie has a very engaging way of presenting old stories. Like the Matrix Trilogy it does not tell any new tale but it simply tells them in a unique way.

It is Frank Miller's style of putting the former comic book on to the big screen that makes all the difference.

Right from the opening credits you know that you are in for something different.

Sin City presents its content in a very gripping way and all the characters are portrayed beautifully.

Some people might complain of the needless violence and gory details often depicted (limbs torn apart, decapitation, and so on) but I did not find it all that disturbing and I have very low tolerance to gore.

Perhaps the director's trick of using black and white tones and not show the red color blood does the trick but nevertheless the gore is somehow acceptable.

Coming back to style, there is too much of it, and in this case too much is just right.

The movie covers three stories from the comic book so it is essential three different "parts" in a single movie but it does not matter. You never feel your focus jarringly switched from one spot to another. The entire movie just flows through.

The visuals in Sin City are impressive. Though the movie makes use of CGI the inherent comic-book look generated makes it all justified. You know that this is exactly what to expect and that makes it even more satisfying.

A wonderful movie and a must have for everyone.

Sin City dares to be different and completely succeeds.

• Sin City - Unrated (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
• Sin City