Sin City (2005)

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Sin City (2005)

The film begins on a balcony overlooking the highlights of Basin City, a grimy, violent and corrupted place. The Customer (Shelton) is greeted by The Salesman (Hartnett), who offers her a cigarette before mysteriously killing her.

The film then moves to the docks of Sin City, where aging police officer John Hartigan (Willis) is attempting to stop child molester Roark Junior (Stahl) from raping eleven year-old Nancy Callahan. At first his partner Bob (Madsen) tries to stop him, but Hartigan punches him in the face, knocking him out cold. Hartigan then meets up with local criminals Shlubb and Klump, whereupon he knocks them both out. When he finds Junior he succeeds in shooting off his ear, arm and genitals before being shot 3 times in the back by Bob. Bob tells Hartigan to stay down, but Hartigan tries to pull his reserve gun and is shot again by Bob another 5 times before he leaves Hartigan there with Nancy.

The story then cuts to Marv (Rourke), a hulking thug who is in a hotel room with the beautiful Goldie (King). After making passionate love, Marv awakens to find that Goldie has been murdered. Realizing he has been framed, he attacks the corrupt police officers and storms the streets, vowing to avenge Goldie's death. He stops at the apartment of Lucille (Gugino), his parole officer, who unsuccessfully warns him to give up on the mission.

Marv then visits Kadie's Bar in search of information. He is visited by two hitmen who order Marv into the back alley behind the bar. There the two are beaten and killed after revealing who sent them. Marv then visits each informant for information, working his way up to a corrupt priest (Miller), who reveals that the Roark family was behind the murder of Goldie. Marv kills the priest and steals his car, but is then attacked and shot at by a woman with a strong resemblance to Goldie, which Marv considers to be an hallucination.

Marv arrives at the Roark family farm where he fights off a wolf playing the part of guard dog. He then uncovers remains of dead women. He is then attacked by silent stalker Kevin (Wood), who is revealed to be Goldie's killer. Marv is knocked unconscious and awakens in Kevin's basement, where the heads of past victims are mounted on the wall. Also present is Lucille, who, having lost her hand, reveals that Kevin is a cannibal and Goldie was a prostitute. Marv breaks free and flees with Lucille, but a group of soldiers arrive and kill Lucille. Marv kills them off and discovers that Cardinal Patrick Henry Roark arranged for Goldie's murder.

Marv goes to Old Town, a section of Sin City reserved particularly for prostitution. Marv is captured and tortured by the women of Old Town, including Goldie's look-alike, who is revealed to be her twin sister Wendy. After revealing that Kevin killed Goldie and the others, Marv and Wendy collect weapons and return to the farm, hoping to finally avenge Goldie's death. Marv attacks Kevin and severs his limbs before the wolf eats him alive. Marv takes his head to Cardinal Roark, who reveals that Kevin was a deeply religious boy who began eating prostitutes to swallow their souls. He persuaded the cardinal to join in, and when Goldie realized what was happening, she was killed. Marv kills the cardinal and is shot by his guards.

Marv survives, however, and is tried and convicted for many murders, including that of Lucille, Kevin's victims and Goldie. While on death row, Wendy visits Marv and they make love. Shortly afterwards, Marv is electrocuted by the state (although it takes two shocks to kill him).

The story then cuts to Shellie (Murphy), a local barmaid who is being harassed by her drunk and violent ex-boyfriend Jackie Boy (del Toro). Her current boyfriend Dwight (Owen) is disgusted with his behavior and shoves his head into a urine-filled toilet bowl after Jackie Boy punches Shellie. An embarrassed Jackie Boy flees with his friends, heading to Old Town to cause further trouble. Dwight follows them and watches them harass young prostitute Becky (Bledel). Also watching is Gail (Dawson), Dwight's on-and-off lover.

When Jackie Boy threatens Becky with a gun, martial arts expert Miho (Aoki) sweeps down, severs Jackie Boy's hand with a manji shaped ninja star and mutilates his friends with a katana. She then causes his gun barrel to backfire, nearly killing him. After listening to Jackie Boy talk to himself, Miho nearly severs his head, making "a Pez dispenser out of him." As the prostitutes collect the dead men's money, they realize that Jackie Boy is a well-respected police officer; his death spells a certain end to the truce between the police and the prostitutes, and war against Old Town will be inevitable.

Dwight agrees to take the corpses to the local tar pit while a traumatized Becky returns home. While driving to the tar pit, he has a hallucinatory conversation with Jackie Boy's corpse, who taunts him as he is chased by a police officer. Dwight talks his way out of the situation and arrives at the tar pit but is shot by mercenaries. Meanwhile, head mercenary Manute (Duncan) arrives in Old Town and kidnaps Gail, explaining that an informant has revealed everything and that other mercenaries are currently invading Old Town.

Dwight kills the mercenaries but is knocked into the tar by a grenade; he sinks into the tar and nearly drowns before Miho arrives and saves him. However, the other mercenaries have escaped and have taken Jackie Boy's severed head with them. They chase after the mercenaries and have a car accident, followed by a violent shoot-out that ends with the death of both mercenaries and the retrieval of Jackie Boy's head. Dwight devises a plan and returns to Old Town.

Meanwhile, Gail's face is being crushed in and tortured, she learns that Becky informed the mercenaries out of fear and greed. Manute receives a letter from Dwight, offering Jackie Boy's head in exchange for Gail. They meet in the back-alley, where the trade is made; as the mercenaries attempt to kill them, the other prostitutes of Old Town arrive and kill the mercenaries. Amidst the gunfire, an injured Becky escapes while Dwight and Gail kiss passionately.

The story then returns to Hartigan, who is recovering in a hospital (this takes place many years before the past two stories). Senator Roark, Junior's father, arrives and informs him that Junior is in a coma and that all plans for the Roark legacy are now in serious jeopardy. Senator Roark reveals that Hartigan will survive, however, and will be framed for Junior's crimes and serve the resultant jail term. Additionally, if Hartigan tells anyone the truth, the informed person will be killed. A grateful Nancy visits and thanks him. She promises to write letters to Hartigan every week while he is in prison and departs.

Hartigan doesn't protest and goes to jail, where he receives the weekly letter from Nancy as promised. After eight years, however, the letters stop arriving, and then Hartigan receives a severed finger instead. Realizing she could be kidnapped by the Roarks, Hartigan confesses to molesting the child and is freed from jail. He reunites with his old partner, Bob, who has changed and regretted what he had done to him. Bob finally leaves Hartigan in Nancy's apartment after telling him that Hartigan's wife has left him. As a deformed, yellow-skinned man stalks him, Hartigan searches for Nancy, eventually finding her at Kadie's Bar, where she has blossomed into a beautiful nineteen year-old stripper (Alba).

Realizing that the severed finger was a fake, Hartigan is greeted by Nancy, who is overwhelmed and then plans to run away with him. Along the way, they are attacked by the yellow-skinned man but Hartigan successfully fights back. Upon arriving at a hotel, Nancy reveals that she is in love with Hartigan, much to his discomfort. The deformed man returns and attacks them, revealing that he is Junior and has now become the Yellow Bastard.

The Yellow Bastard, having been disfigured by the years of surgery necessary to regenerate his missing pieces, leaves Hartigan for dead and takes Nancy to the farm to finally rape and kill her. Hartigan escapes, however, and flees to the farm, where the Yellow Bastard is whipping and torturing Nancy. Hartigan kills the guards and then corners the Yellow Bastard, but collapses and is unable to do more. However, he has fooled the Yellow Bastard and stabs him before castrating and killing him.

Hartigan explains his plans to reveal Senator Roark's corruption to the police and finally bring down the corruption in Sin City. After Nancy departs, Hartigan reveals that this would be impossible, and he then commits suicide in order to ensure Nancy's safety.

In the epilogue, an injured Becky is seen departing from a hospital. While riding in the elevator, she is discovered by the Salesman, who offers her a cigarette.

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