The wait for a sequel to Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's 2005 cult favorite Sin City has been agonizing to say the least. Miller and Rodriguez signed on to do a sequel entitled A Dame to Kill For shortly after the original was released, but it kept getting pushed back as Rodriguez and Miller worked on other projects. The delays were so frequent that it seemed like the film was a myth. Just over nine years after the original was released, A Dame to Kill For has finally arrived, and it was well worth the almost decade-long wait.
As is the case with all sequels, fans of the original will be skeptical of whether or not the filmmakers can capture the magic of the first film again. Miller and Rodriguez seemed to be well-aware of that fact as A Dame to Kill For does exactly what any good sequel does recaptures everything that was great about the first film. The trio of stories feel fresh and independent from the first Sin City yet maintain the same sleazy allure, grit and noir-throwback appeal that made the original such a dynamic film.
Miller- who authored the Sin City graphic novels and penned the screenplay- once again brings a series of dark, twisting stories loaded with fascinating characters to the screen. The assembly of antiheroes that make up this film may turn off some audiences, but it's a big part of why the film is so appealing to me. Every character was either born evil or has been someway corrupted by the city they live in. The motives for some of the characters are more noble than others, but there is not a single character in this entire film that is an upstanding citizen. During a time where cinema is so focused on sending positive messages, it's refreshing to see a film that is so unapologetically bleak.
The enormous ensemble cast was one of the strongest elements of the original and that remains the case in the second installment. Series newcomers Joesph Gordon-Levitt, Dennis Haysbert and Christopher Meloni as well as returning stars Mickey Rourke, Powers Boothe and Jessica Alba are all excellent in their roles. The two new additions who gets the most screen time- Josh Brolin and Eva Green-also manage to give the best performances in the entire film. Brolin takes over the part of Dwight McCarthy that was played by Clive Owen in the original and really takes the character to the next level by examining the character's struggle to keep his inner demons inside, and not let his criminal past seep into his current life. Brolin walks a fine line between being in-control and resorting back to his violent ways of the past every second he is on screen and it's absolutely remarkable to watch. Green is also perfect for her role as manipulative femme fatale Ava Lord, who uses her sex appeal to get exactly what see wants from any man she meets. As Green proved earlier this year with her scene-stealing performance in 300: Rise of an Empire, she is a perfect villain that burns up the screen with a relentlessly sinister energy. Green has made a serious resurgence in American cinema lately after spending years making films in her native country of France. With performances like this, I really hope she doesn't return to obscurity in the U.S. ever again.
While Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is a well-written film with plenty of great performances, you can't help but be swept up in the film's visuals. Miller and Rodriguez are able to create the film that feels exactly like a comic book. Every frame of the film oozes cheesy yet badass style and the green screen backdrops are packed to the brim with detail. The black-and-white color palette Rodriguez and Miller employ here is so striking that it even makes the barrage of CGI blood and severed limbs that regularly grace the screen look beautiful. This visual style may not be as groundbreaking as it was in 2005, but it still pops off the screen and looks better than a vast majority of films that have been released in the past decade or so. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is one of the most satisfying sequels of all-time and easily one of the finest films to be released in the first eight months of 2014.
4.5/5 Stars
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