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'Sin City': Comic book on film

Beautiful violence. Ravishing bloodshed. Stylish mayhem.

Like the Kill Bill movies by Quentin Tarantino, who puts in a guest directing stint in Frank Miller's Sin City, this celebration of gore is gorgeous to look at, but numbing to watch.

Dimension Films 'Sin City' D The verdict: Overly violent comic book noir, not saved by its visual style. Directors: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez Starring: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Elijah Wood, Nick Stahl, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson Run time: 126 minutes Release date: April 1, 2005 Rating: R for sustained strong stylized violence, nudity and sexual content including dialogue. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Sin City"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Directed by Robert Rodriguez (with Miller), this is surely the most authentic recreation of adult comic books ever translated to film. But so what?

Rodriguez takes three tales from Miller's Sin City series, all hard-boiled noir sagas of narrating palookas, scantily clad dames, morbidly dark humor and plenty of dismemberment. He gives the film a high-gloss, black-and-white sheen, accented by saturated bits of color — a pair of lips, a shiny car, a yellow-skinned bad guy.

Rodriguez has gathered a terrific cast for Sin City — Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and Clive Owen. Also in the cast are Carla Gugino, Jaime King and Rosario Dawson.

Still, it will be disappointing to see how large a market there is for this.