Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Starring Josh Brolin, Eva Green
Directed by Frank Miller & Robert Rodriguez
It’s been nine years since Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s dark and gritty take on the noir genre exploded onto the big screen in Sin City but a long delay seems to have marred the freshness of the sequel.
Though visually dazzling and often impeccably stylized, A Dame to Kill For’s plot is as thin as the source material’s graphic novel pages that preceded it.
Based primarily on Miller’s second book in the series, the movie depicts several intersecting storylines. Once again, an ensemble cast is dutifully assembled with the likes of Jessica Alba and Mickey Rourke reprising roles while newcomers Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a scene-stealing Eva Green attempt to inject new life into the franchise.
Although Miller and Rodriquez (who also serves as the editor, cinematographer and co-composer) absolutely nail the look and feel of the first outing, the sequel does little to advance the genre in a new direction.
The frequent shocking and visceral violence mixed with a bevy of bountiful beauties can only take the film so far once it starts getting bogged down by multiple character narration and standard revenge plotting.
Still, some of the sequences are positively cracking. Gordon-Levitt’s poker playing scenes opposite a terrifying Powers Boothe are some of the most effective and memorable, while Eva Green continues to elevate her acting as her sultry scenes hit the noir nail squarely on the head.
In the end though, A Dame to Kill For exists merely as a superficial patchwork of eye-catching moments.
