Sin City: A Dame to kill for Movie Review

In 2005 Frank Miller and director Robert Rodriguez delivered the popular film-noir comic to the big screen; with its unique aesthetic and absorbing stories, it was a huge hit. After a nearly ten year wait, the belated sequel has finally arrived, with mixed results.

Like its predecessor, A Dame to kill for tells three separate stories that transport the viewer back and forth through time. This time around there’s the story of Dwight (Josh Brolin) as he struggles to free himself of the seductive Ava Lord (Eva Green), Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who runs afoul of the corrupt Senator Roark (Powers Booth) and Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba) who is struggling with the death of Detective John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) in the previous films. All three stories begin well enough with the monologues again getting you into the perspective of each character, but there’s no denying the fact that each story has its own problems that put them in the shadow of the first film. Dwight’s story is riddled with senseless contradictions and reversals, not to mention an overzealous performance by Eva Green, making it the least enjoyable plotline in the film. Nancy’s story takes a long time to get going and when it does in the final act of the film, it seems quite rushed and whilst Johnny’s story (which was written just for the film) is the best of the three, it has an unsatisfying conclusion that brings all the momentum to a halt. This is down to an irregular pace which stands at a contrast to the previous film which paced each of its stories alongside each other seamlessly, A Dame to kill for focuses too much on Dwight’s story for most of its run time and the other stories get neglected as a result. Furthermore the plot doesn’t do a very good job of filling in the gap between films; A Dame to kill for launches straight into the action without any meaningful context to the original, leaving those who didn’t see it quite confused.

Sin City: A Dame to kill for presents the same simple character archetypes that veer towards a camp and cool style. Of all the new actors present in the film, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is definitely the best addition with his assuming smile and smooth mannerisms. Josh Brolin and Mickey Rourke are also great as returning characters Dwight and Marv, who put across internal struggles and likeability respectively. Unfortunately while these characters work well, the others fall just as flat as the stories they populate. Eva Green in particular overacts so much in her role that she becomes comical rather than enjoyable to watch and Jessica Alba, despite being one of the main characters in a story, seems more content with dancing at the club rather than properly developing her character until the film’s final moments. The biggest problem with the characters in A Dame to kill for though is the inconsistent balancing; just as the plot homes in too much on Dwight’s story, certain characters become underused at best and somewhat pointless at worst. Christopher Lloyd is barely in the movie, which is disappointing given his interesting role as a heroin induced doctor and Bruce Willis just stands there as a ghost, not contributing anything to the overall plot. The characterisation of Sin City: A Dame to kill for has ultimately taken a pretty sizeable step back from the original.

There’s no doubt that Sin City’s film noir is at its gritty and stylish best for the sequel. The digitised set of the titular city is every bit as detailed and immersive as it was, from the dark streets to winding roads. Colour and the saturated black and white mix to maintain the distinctive style that sets the comic apart from all the others. The music is once again brilliant, adding to the moody atmosphere that hangs over the city. There’s also some solid cinematography at work here with all the fight scenes and other set piece moments being framed very well throughout. A Dame to kill for has the looks all sorted but really the movie can’t be sold on this merit alone.

Sin City: A Dame to kill for may have the distinctive style and look that made the first so memorable, but the plot and characters fall too flat to make an impression. After such a long wait, it’s hard not to be disappointed and even disinterested in what’s going on which speaks volumes about how audience interest can lower over the years. If you watched the first film, you’ll get a bit of enjoyment from the film but most will choose to ignore it.

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars