I know it's a testament to how much the comics got right that Rodriguez (and Miller himself as co-director) saw little need to improve upon them for the film. But I gotta ask: beyond introducing the existing stories--as purely as possible--to a wider audience who are more likely to see a Bruce Willis film than pick up a comic book, why make the film at all? Is it to show the relative strengths of both media--comics and film? Is this whole thing simply the most expensive industry ad ever made?

Not that I'm complaining. The acting (particularly Mickey Rourke and Rosario Dawson, both nailing the spirit of the genre) and direction (such attention to detail even through the great, big campiness of it all) were delightful. It was a fun ride watching the action sequences explode in "real-time." And of course Miller's cameo during "The Hard Goodbye" was a true fanboy delicacy.

But I come to both comics and film first for story, then for character, and then--once every few moons--for better understanding of the human condition. And I don't know that I found any of the above in the film that wasn't already there in the comics. The story was already alive and breathing on the pages, Miller having made many of the "directorial" and "character" choices for the filmmakers when he wrote and drew the thing.

Yeah, that's right, Frank; what have you done for me lately?

I want to be clear that I'm no purist. I'm actually one of those rare fanboys who relishes what Peter Jackson changes and adds to Lord of the Rings and Fincher brings to Fight Club. The film version of Sin City is an incredible ride, and wildly entertaining in its own right. It might even be the first time a filmmaker has thought to directly adapt the art as well as the high-concept story of a book--a certain boost for illustrators in the future, if the experiment proves successful financially. And I'm so thankful they didn't dumb the stories down to make them more palatable. But there's also little new there for fans of the comic to experience, whereas moviegoers will certainly have more ground to explore even in the four stories they just saw adapted so faithfully on the screen.

For those interested in Clive Owen's character (Dwight), his introductory story, A Dame to Kill For, was the 2nd Sin City book (upper right image), and the only one of the first four graphic novels not anthologized in the film. It also introduces Michael Clark Duncan's character and has a kickass-sized cameo by Marv (Mickey Rourke's character in the film).


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