Sin City emerges from the recent onslaught of comic book movies with over the top violence and enough style for almost two films.

The plot is based on three of Frank Miller’s graphic novels, Sin City, The Big Fat Kill, and That Yellow Bastard.

In Sin City, Marv, a massive brute played by Mickey Rourke, is out to avenge the murder of his one true love. Dwight, played by Clive Owen, has to cover up the murder of a hero cop and Hartigan, a soon to be retired cop played by Bruce Willis, is imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. All three are intertwined, allowing the characters to weave in and out of the different stories while still retaining a coherent theme.

The film is essentially a film noir on steroids with bits of cheesy, 70s exploitation films thrown in for good measure. There is no morally redeeming aspects to any of the characters, but that is what makes the film so much fun. The good guys have skeletons in their closets and the bad guys are even worse. Everyone’s form of justice is murder, and they go about it in every way possible from electrocution to decapitation.

Directors Robert Rodriguez and Miller opted to shoot the entire film on green screens. However, unlike the recent attempt of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Rodriguez and Miller pull off the blend of live actors and computer animated backgrounds seamlessly. They create a believable comic book world that is not bound by the hindrances of reality. In essence, the film is a living, breathing comic book.

Though the film may be groundbreaking for what it attempts, the transition between the intense action and character voice overs tend to slow it down. These inner monologues cause several moments in the film to drag without revealing any insight into the characters.

All together the film entertains, even with a few slow moving sections. If you can stomach the gruesome violence, then you will agree that this comic book adaptation is sinfully good.

I give it four out of five stars.