SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR – The Review

SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s belated follow-up to the most visually inventive comic book adaptation to make its way to a movie screen, is black and white and red all over. There’s plenty of blood in the sequel, either represented as the color of fresh snow or its natural red. Stark monochrome with the occasional color splash of blood, fire or lipstick is the hallmark of the ultimate town without pity, which comes roaring back to life in this superb follow-up that serves as a sequel and prequel at the same time. Characters that died are back while earlier incidents serve as motivation. SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR presents new characters and old ones played by different actors. But the film’s look and artistry and the barn-burning 3D mayhem is so exhilarating that one quickly forgives its lack of logic and you gotta admire a film that’s so in-your-face about its lack of morals, values, ethics, or any sense of wholesomeness. SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR is violent, vulgar, full of nudity, and highly recommended.

The plot will be confusing if you haven’t seen the original and even if you have, I recommend a re-viewing to catch all the references. Marv, the loveable hulk played so well by Mickey Rourke is back in SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR. This time his story is less tragic and he just has a good time upping up the body count. Dwight, played by Clive Owen in part one, returns as well, though he’s now Josh Brolin (a throwaway line about plastic surgery clears that up) who seems to be in a growling competition with Rourke. Michael Clarke Duncan’s Manute has been replaced by Dennis Haysbert, who’s fine though casting another big black giant like Duncan would have better fit the material. Powers Boothe’s sinister Senator Roark is the central villain this time out and the actor has a great scenery-gnashing time. The major new male character is Joesph Gordon Levitt’s Johnny, a cocky young gambler whose luck runs out when he crashes Roark’s backroom poker game. Other new guys include Jeremy Piven and Christopher Meloni as doomed cops and Christopher Lloyd, hilarious as a doctor who shows how much surgery 40 bucks can buy.

The film’s title is appropriate. While the estrogen-enriched story is told through the eyes of its roughest male characters, there are indeed plenty of dames in SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR to kill for. Jessica Alba is back as Nancy, the stripper hell-bent on revenge for the death of Hartigan (Bruce Willis back as a ghost only she can see – I kept waiting for her to say “I see dead people!”). Alba (whose bod doesn’t show she’s had two kids since SC1) apparently attended a stripper school that teaches that clothing stays on, but this time she gets to wield some high-powered weapons and join in the grisly fun. Rosario Dawson returns as Gail as does Jamie King as both Goldie and Wendy. Devin Aoki has been replaced as the head-hacking swordstress Niho by Jamie Chung and Lady Gaga and Juno Temple each shine in one-scene roles. But there’s no chick so fierce as the sequel’s best new character: Eva Green’s Ava, the most aggressive movie maneater since….well….. Eva Green in 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE! Green gives a physical and over-the-top perf as the ultimate black widow who effortlessly manipulates men into murderous acts. She’s flat-out spectacular in the kind of unapologetic arch-villain role that is all-too rare for actresses. In a perfect world Green would cop an Oscar nom for her work here. She plays many of her scenes in the buff and after ScarJo in UNDER THE SKIN and Olivia Wilde in THIRD PERSON, 2014 is shaping up to be a stellar year for exciting actresses in their prime performing nude (I hope that doesn’t sound pervy).

Some may complain the tone and look of SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR is too similar to its predecessor and that it doesn’t break any new ground. That may be true, but I loved the stylized representation of the first film which so artfully bridged the differences between performance and static comic art in exciting, sometimes beautiful ways and I for one was glad the sequel didn’t go in new directions visually. The 3D is brilliant, adding a cool razor-sharp dimension to Frank Miller’s flat comic panels. The nine year wait has paid off big: SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR is the most ambitious, entertaining, and artistically magnificent adult film of the summer.

 5 of 5 Stars