*** This review has been written for the DVD review competition, I thought I'd try something different to give a more diverse take on the generic opinions you can read. My views come through the main consciousness of Hartigan, one of the main characters of the film, who in my own fictitious plot has been locked in a room with the film as his predicted clue to freedom. The style of the review mirrors the film, with many scenes having voiceovers of the actors replacing spoken word to get its ideas across. ***

Keep watching old man, keep watching. Just another long night in Sin City.

My heart quickens as I struggle for breath, the smell of a bloody wound filling my nostrils is overpowering and unwelcome. Not a sound. No sign of life. Confusion reigns and thoughts swim congealed, like the gash on my head. Only the faint glimmer of hope I might see Nancy again keeps me from drifting into unconsciousness.

Breathe old man, breathe.

The room is bare apart from a television and DVD player on the floor, surrounded by wood filings, cobwebs and an ancient sofa that like me has seen better days. The dirty calendar shows the date 26 September. Think old man, what do you do now? I pull myself over to the door but it's locked. The window is blocked with thick aluminium bars. There's no way out and no way in, other than through that damn oak door.

I drag my aching body over to the sofa as my hearts pounding so fast I can't think about anything else. Lighting a cigar, I notice the antique sofa is missing a few springs and smells worse than me.

You will have to sit on the edge of your seat old man and hold concentration, there's no other choice. I try to slow my heart down and concentrate on my lungs but the pain is overwhelming and I slump into the gaudy sofa paralysed for a second that feels like hours. Let it end.

I sit up with a jerk. Wake up old man, you're not done just yet. Prove you're not completely useless. My eyes open, my brain begins to clear and I feel something plastic graze my right hand gently. It's an envelope, musty and worn with a letter inside spotted with blood, probably my own. The note reads like a scratched record, each syllable screaming at me as I try to comprehend the message. Realisation hits me like a brick.

You have to watch the film Hartigan, other wise you may never see Nancy again.

I turn it over and read the back warily. Crooked cops, sexy dames - looks like an old film noir that you used to watch. Directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring….me. That fact hits like a brick. Starring me? Hartigan the worn out cop, running from block to block in Sin City trying desperately to protect Nancy? The one person in my life that allows me to feel anything anymore…..lets hope Frank Miller's intervention has done me justice. Best known for his comic classics about this city, Miller's genius will make the film almost watch able.

The TV flickers on and pauses for a moment as I slip the DVD in the machine. Upbeat music plays I'm sent straight into old gangster noir, gone back in time to colourless movies and shady characters. I keep watching and notice something, this film is different and the redness of the dames lips stand out like a sore thumb. My thoughts switch back to Nancy again. How will I find her again? She stopped writing those letters a long time ago, stupid old man. The only letter you received lately was the one you threw just now on the floor in disgust.

My thoughts are interrupted by the events on screen and my eyes fix on…..myself. I almost gag, my blood smells worse than that Yellow B*stard and doesn't seem like going away anytime soon. I crane my head and stretch my neck out from the termite-infested sofa looking for more clues. The only hint around, a cigarette pack from the lousy saloon you always go to, perhaps she's gone back there. Skinny little Nancy Callaghan has grown up now and you have to move on.

The screen is now replaying parts of the last few years. The fall out with my partner, his bloody revenge with Nancy being taken away from me. I won't let that happen again. Violence is shown stylised and gory, yet not in the normal method of red spatters. White is the colour of choice and blood is distinct against black hues and backdrops.

The next scene shows that good for nothing Marv, an old style thug almost as old as me but not on the same medication. This is a guy that knows how to kill and is tough enough to do it. My eyes close and when they open he is with that prostitute Goldie, she is dead on the bed and Marv won't live for that, one thing I am certain of. Sure enough he plots to give her murderer the hard goodbye and he walks off down the alley in Sin City.

Barely keeping my eyes open I lay my head down, brain rebelling against the film against my better judgement. I have no idea what the significance of seeing Marv and myself is, but the overwhelming feeling of sleep fills my thoughts with the darkness of the streets and I fall asleep. This film is a documentary of the city I grew up in, the one place I feel home and Miller has captured it all.

Dwight, that do-gooder I heard about a while ago is on the screen now. Seems like the prostitutes of Sin City have a problem. A cop is dead by their hands and war is imminent. The cops won't keep out the mob so the girl's better start protecting themselves, like you have to old man. Who knows what will happen to them, no doubt that corner of the city will slip back into disarray and call on the police to help them out again, but this time I won't be answering the call. I won't stay alive that long.

Straight after the cop caper I sit bolt upright on the sofa. It's time for the finale of That Yellow B*stard, Nancy and my throat goes dry with anticipation. He knew what was coming to him…he must have. That corrupt senator Roark and his son got the karma they deserved. That Yellow B*stard won't catch me in the same way again. Forget about me Nancy, save yourself from now on.

The DVD player stops in its tracks signalling the end of the film. What have I learnt from three interwoven stories about my city? The details of the film are a blur as I check the box for more information. Extras? Maybe I can learn more from these….

..…no..just a simple behind the scenes of the movie. I feel unfulfilled. No outtakes, extended/deleted scenes or commentary are included, what a waste. I stumble around the room looking for an exit. Knocking the walls and door to find a respite, I find the door is hollow after all, suffering from severe termite infestation.

"Damn, I could have left the old fashioned way" I breathed to myself. Strength returning I pick up the one object big enough to break the door down, the television set. One crash later and I'm back on the dingy streets, lights flickering in the gloom as the rain lashes down on the street ahead of me. This place ain't for kids and even the adults might have a hard time round here. It's gonna be another long night in Sin City.

Fade to black.

Cast List
-------------

Bruce Willis - Hartigan
Jessica Alba - Nancy
Devon Aoki - Miho
Powers Boothe - Senator Roark
Rosario Dawson - Gail
Benicio Del Toro - Jackie Boy
Michael Clarke Duncan - Manute
Clive Owen - Dwight

To conclude the review, Sin City is definitely one of the more brutal films you will see this year, violence and action rife in this great film by Rodriguez and Miller. The action is fast paced, graphic, definitely not for youngsters and stylised in a noir that left me breathless for more throughout. All the stories are based on the brilliant graphic novels "Sin City", "The Big Fat Kill" and "That Yellow Bastard" written and illustrated by Frank Miller and intertwined to create an effect similar to Pulp Fiction and in fact, Quentin Tarantino even guest directs this film and appears in the main bar which eagle eyed viewers may spot.

The main drawbacks of the movie are that its probably half an hour too long, even though I loved the film I found myself looking at the clock with 30 minutes to go after being totally immersed in the action up to that point. Another negative aspect is the lack of proper story telling, although the action is fantastic it has given way a little to proper character development and concentrates on the wow factor rather than an in depth story. To be honest I hadn't noticed too much the first time round and several of my friends were the same, it is likely to shock and awe Miller virgins into submission on first viewing and this proves that Sin City is a film not to be missed.