Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)
Certified: 18
Duration: 102 minutes
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez and 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, Lady Gaga
KRS Releasing Ltd

My only gripe with Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is that it has taken Robert Rodriguez a whole nine years to come up with a sequel to what was arguably one of 2005’s best movies of the year. The original Sin City, with its unique look, stylised action and pulpish neo-noir look, was a memorable picture. Since then this look has been used or was the inspiration of various other films such as 300 (2006) and its sequel and Spirit (2008), among others.

This sequel is based on the classic Sin City comic books by Frank Miller and amalgamates three other short stories of which two were created specifically for the movie. For those like myself who fell in love with the hyper-cool style of the first film, this sequel makes for compulsory viewing.

This time around the film has four storylines and it deftly pieces these into the events of the first film. The plot focuses on the Dashiell Hammett and Mickey Spillane kind of noir but amplified with the hyper-style violence that Frank Miller brings to his comic book projects. This is a film made in black and white with primal flashes of colours such as red, blue, green and yellow to give the film its unique look.

Mickey Rourke returns as the tough and mean as hell Marv who simply takes no prisoner. He is at Kadie’s saloon to keep Nancy (Jessica Alba) safe. The dancer is at times followed by the spectre of Hartigan (Bruce Willis) who had saved her in the previous film.

Green is the perfect femme fatale and will have the boys swooning

Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a gambler who enters into a highly dangerous game of cards at Kadie’s, where along with his good luck charm Goldie (Jaime King) he manages to win big against Roarke (Powers Booth). Then there is the storyline that brings into play the alluring and dangerous black widow-style Ava (Eva Green) and when she summons Dwight (Josh Brolin), with whom she had an affair four years before, he knows trouble is soon on its way. Meanwhile, Nancy wants vengeance on Roarke and she will do anything to achieve this.

Drenched in style, Rodriguez and Miller deliver a film where violence, the environment, the human figure and the cinema screen are all intertwined in an artistic canvas that is very recognisable and rich in its brushstrokes.

Green is the highlight of the film as Rodriguez presents her as a veritable neon pulp pin-up icon. She is the perfect femme fatale and will have the boys swooning and asking for more even if they know she is danger reincarnated. Rourke plays his role of Marv with unbridled enthusiasm that is very palpable, while Brolin stars as Dwight before changing his face into Clive Owen from the first film.

This time around the picture does not feel as new as in the first film, but that is understandable. However, its style, the noir atmosphere and the way Rodriguez makes the comic book come to life are assets in this movie experience.

It’s as if each shot and setting was aimed at making the comic book page come to life without forgetting from where it all started. The mix of allure, steamy sex, raw violence and its collection of lowlifes makes for a very intense setting that places the sin in Sin City.