Comic book legend Frank Miller snags an anthology-style feature film (and a co-director's chair) for his grim, noir-soaked passion project. Back in the 1990s, Miller used _Sin City_'s contrast-rich visual style and crusty, x-rated subject matter to push the print medium to its limits. Now, with a similarly passionate, fringe-dwelling filmmaker along for the ride (that being Robert Rodriguez, he of _Grindhouse_ and _Desperado_ fame), he's placed himself in a great position to do the same for the silver screen.

In certain respects, the _Sin City_ movie does everything it sets out to. It's gritty, edgy and cocksure. It's stuffed with big-name actors, playing roles that fit like a tight set of dark leather gloves. It's moody and violent, vulgar and cynical. With the exception of the aforementioned source material, nothing in the world looks like this. Start to finish, the whole film is a continuous rush of flavor and texture; a towering showcase of dynamic art direction and reckless digital risk-taking. Not every daring visual exercise pays off - a majority of the character interactions obviously involve actors on different sound stages - but I can admire the ambition behind sinking so much budget into what's effectively a million-dollar VFX demo reel.

That pervasive sense of style demands the whole spotlight, which is probably just as well because most of the writing (particularly the dialogue) doesn't make a smooth transition from page to screen. It's one thing to pay homage to the crime epics of old, something laudable and nostalgic, but _Sin City_ carries that sleeve-worn admiration so far over the top, it can feel like a parody. The wife and I shared more than a few sidelong glances, scoffs and smirks as this one played out. Did they seriously just say that with a straight face? What's our tally of crippling groin injuries up to now? Its tendency to play fast and loose with the laws of gravity and physical vulnerability is another problem. In print, the space in-between panels affords us some essential creative license and smooths over such fuzziness. But there's no similar space to hide on the screen, just awkward transitions and mood-souring missteps.

Energetic, well-intentioned and bursting with creativity, _Sin City_'s optics are betrayed by a script that badly needed a once-over by somebody outside the brain trust. Perversely entertaining; sometimes in good ways, sometimes in bad.