“Of all the nightclubs and restaurants around she had to come back to this one.” If you live for inner dialogue such as this, you probably pine for classic Film Noir. However, if your life is lacking confusing, ultra-violent, despotic lunatics then you are missing Frank Miller’s Sin City.

For myself, being new to Near Mint Minus and comics in general, it allowed me to get a different perspective on this work of cinema. Having never opened myself to the twisted mind of Frank Miller (or even hearing of him in fact) allowed me to fully appreciate this work as a stand alone film, instead of constantly comparing it to the graphic novel. I have to say that the overall feeling, I can only assume, which the novels portray was successfully conveyed through the silver screen (that of a gritty unforgiving world in which only the ruthless and rugged survive, at least a little longer than the rest). However, I will not say that during my screening I did not raise a few questions (as well as brows).

The film itself was shot using a completely computer generated background allowing a seamless translation of Miller’s drawing style. While this type of filming works very well with a specific purpose (such as conveying Miller’s characters, which probably would look stupid if placed in a regular full color movie). I fear this new style might fall victim to mass attention and go the way of the Matrix bullet-time fighting style.

Speaking of the characters, I felt at first they all seemed a little too campy. I thought that being as prestigious as they were they could do a better job. But after getting into the pace of the movie, I realized that this is just the style of the film - an homage to great Film Noir classics such as The Big Chill and The Maltese Falcon. With that thought under my belt I began to fully appreciate the characters’ minor details such as Marv’s (Micky Rourke) infatuation with new outerwear, and Dwight’s (Clive Owen) soft spot for the ladies. All of these minutiae helped to push Miller’s strong story.

I will try to keep much of the storyline to a minimum, as to not spoil it for anyone like me who has never heard of Sin City or Frank Miller. Essentially, the story follows three men, Dwight, Marv, and Hartigan (Bruce Willis) and their respective stories of revenge/justice. They are supported by a very recognizable cast and follow no boundaries within the time-space continuum (yes that word is spelled correctly). The stories do intertwine a bit, but only as far as seeing them in the background in one of the other’s tale.

Overall, I thought this a worthy piece of comic book cinema. It was directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller. It also included Quentin Tarantino as a guest director for a scene (I believe it is the one where Dwight and Jackie Boy [Benicio del Toro] share dialogue in a car). Parents should be warned, this film does contain very graphic violence and nudity. After all, this is Sin City folks it’s not a rendition of Dr. Strange Meets Mister Cuddlesworth. This is a gritty story with gritty outcomes. Don’t be surprised if you leave the theater with a mouthful of sand and gravel, wishing you were as cool as Dwight or as strong as Marv.