Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller
Written by: Frank Miller
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Christopher Meloni, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Lloyd, Jaime King, Juno Temple, Stacy Keach, Jamie Chung
Action/Crime/Thriller - 102 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 20 August 2014
Written by: Frank Miller
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Christopher Meloni, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Lloyd, Jaime King, Juno Temple, Stacy Keach, Jamie Chung
Action/Crime/Thriller - 102 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 20 August 2014
I love the dialogue in film noir. “I was born at night, but not last night.” “They are wrong; love doesn’t conquer anything at all.” “How’s tricks, stranger?” Like its 2005 predecessor, Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is full of delicious one-liners, “Death is just like life in Sin City; it always wins.” The crisp black and white is back, the separate but nearly interlocking stories are back, and the omnipresent nighttime and slick, wet streets welcome us back into the fold. Everybody smokes, the dames and lugs are up to no good, and Sin City is always ready to help you kiss the concrete around the next corner. I loved everything about 2005’s Sin City, the stories, the gloss, the endings where the villain gets his but the hero does not quite win. The new Sin City reaches for the same heights but hits a derivative note. The stories are worn, the 3D dulls the bright moonlight, and it falls into a familiar sequel trap; it reminds you of the original’s greatness and how what you are watching now is not the original.
Even though the sequel arrives nine years later, the timeline in the film does not match. Certain stories are more prequels because characters we saw die in the earlier film are alive and well here, looking at you Mickey Rourke. Dwight, Clive Owen’s character, is now played by Josh Brolin and due to the unfortunate passing of Michael Clarke Duncan, Dennis Haysbert takes over his role as Manute. Marv (Rourke, 2011's Immortals) shows up in most of the stories in some form or another but the major new addition is the femme fatale, Ava Lord (Eva Green, 2014's 300: Rise of an Empire).
Even though the sequel arrives nine years later, the timeline in the film does not match. Certain stories are more prequels because characters we saw die in the earlier film are alive and well here, looking at you Mickey Rourke. Dwight, Clive Owen’s character, is now played by Josh Brolin and due to the unfortunate passing of Michael Clarke Duncan, Dennis Haysbert takes over his role as Manute. Marv (Rourke, 2011's Immortals) shows up in most of the stories in some form or another but the major new addition is the femme fatale, Ava Lord (Eva Green, 2014's 300: Rise of an Empire).
Ava is the ultimate seductress; she can be whatever men want her to be. To Dwight, she is his one true love no matter how cruel she is to him. To Manute, she is the goddess who may pull any puppet string she pleases, and to Mort (Christopher Meloni, 2013's Man of Steel), a blue collar Sin City cop, she is a vulnerable woman who needs his steadfast protection, no matter the price. Eva Green studied her Barbara Stanwyck and Rita Hayworth; she keeps her men under pressure and wanting more. The femme fatale storyline isn’t the most intriguing, but it is enjoyable to watch the scheming dame use and throw away men like she would a disposable razor.
The film’s best story line is Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 2013's Don Jon) as an unusually lucky and extremely cocky kid when it comes to the slots, poker, and thumbing his nose at authority. Sticking it to the powerful and evil Senator Roarke (Powers Boothe, 2012's The Avengers) at poker is a deed only the most foolish man would consider. Johnny does it with a whore on his lap and a sneer on his face. Why is Johnny so reckless? That juicy twist is for you to find out.
Marv’s run in with a bunch of frat boys who need killing in a segment called “Just Another Saturday Night” kicks off the film in an effective hard opening, but the film ends tying up the Jessica Alba/Bruce Willis story from the first film. Nancy (Alba, 2013's Machete Kills) is an alcoholic now dreaming of revenge on Senator Roarke for ruining her life. Hartigan (Willis, 2013's G.I. Joe: Retaliation), returns as a ghost for here is a character who stayed dead. I’m happy for the closure, but once again, seeing these characters reminds us of how much better everything was nine years ago.
I am not in favor of the shift to 3D either. Body parts and blood flew across the screen just fine without it. It does not draw the audience in closer or wow us with any new technology we haven’t seen before. All the 3D achieves is dimming what should be a bright, shocking white on top of deep blacks. The look of Sin City was perfect. Filming characters separate in front of green screens does not impair their performances, as you would be inclined to think it would. Perhaps the scenery is so gorgeous we forget to notice that the actors were most likely never in the same room together.
It will help you very much to go back and revisit the original Sin City before you go see the new one. Plot points and characters will be fresh in your mind to pick up where you left off. You will also get the chance to watch the better movie of the two.
It will help you very much to go back and revisit the original Sin City before you go see the new one. Plot points and characters will be fresh in your mind to pick up where you left off. You will also get the chance to watch the better movie of the two.
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