‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’ Theatrical Review

After nine years of promises, the second installment of Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s cinematic Sin City collaboration has finally been realized. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, remarkably, does not miss a beat from the original.

Even though a decade-long hiatus has passed, returning actors such as Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, and Bruce Willis have perfectly rediscovered their characters. I watched both films back-to-back, and the sequel has the same feel and look. The two films could be spliced together and still be perfectly cohesive.

Much like the first movie, this one is split into multiple vignettes that overlap as the movie progresses. This time around, there are four different stories. Two are adapted from the comics and the other two are original stories for this movie.

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The first original story centers around Johnny (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he blows into town, the luckiest man to ever live. Even the slot machines pay out with his first coin, but he may have more than he bargained for when he sits at a poker table with Senator Roark (reprised by Powers Boothe).

The second new plot picks up Jessica Alba’s character Nancy from the first film as she continues to mourn the death of Hartigan (once again played by Bruce Willis). The transformation of Nancy from the child she was at the beginning of the first movie through to what she becomes by the end of this one is an exhilarating ride, and Jessica Alba has nailed the character.

The adapted stories both involve Marv. I was very happy to see Mickey Rourke return for this role, and Rodriguez made it worth his while. He definitely has more screen time than any of the other actors. Once again off his meds, he takes some time to retrace his steps and figure out what trouble he got into that evening.

The other adapted story involves Josh Brolin as a pre-plastic surgery Dwight (previously played by Clive Owen) and the titular Dame to Kill For, named Ava. Eva Green almost steals the entire movie. She definitely overshadows Brolin and Dennis Haysbert in this story.

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I’m really surprised by the amount of negative reviews Sin City: A Dame to Kill For has received. Many of the complaints involve a slow story and weak dialogue, but it appears the people making these claims have idealized the first film. The movies and the comics these movies are based on purposefully have these elements for a reason. They are a reflection of the film noir they pay homage to while adding the gritty edge Miller is known for.

The first movie was innovative in its visuals, creating an entire CGI world in black and white with splashes of color to reflect the comic in its style. This was really what the original is remembered for today and why it was so popular at the time. Now that it’s a decade later and the style has been replicated by other filmmakers, I was interested to see what techniques Rodriguez would bring to the table.

As soon as the movie starts, it’s evident the use of 3D is really what sets this one apart. Most films are converted into 3D while the movie is in post-production, but the movies that are actually worth seeing in 3D are the ones that are shot with 3D cameras. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For joins the likes of Avatar, Life of Pi, and Hugo as films that are essential to see in 3D. Each snowflake and raindrop appears to be perfectly placed, and Rodriguez’s attention to detail shines.

The best description I heard of the movie was from a woman in her 60s as she was leaving the theater: “That was like watching one of my nightmares.” I want a one-sentence review of every movie from this woman; that is exactly what this is like. Much like this film, dreams are in black and white. We assign colors to meaningful aspects of the dream when recalling them later, and the little color in the film is added with specific intent (such as increasing emphasis of the Dame’s seduction by embellishing her eyes and lips). Certainly the gritty tone and plots, which leave every character worse for wear, nightmarish for most of the audience.

People have also been surprised by the small amount of money this movie has made, but, again, I’m not sure why. Robert Rodriguez is not a draw. People are familiar with his work, but not many of them have actually seen any of it. He had to start his own television network to have a place to air the series he works on.

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I love his movies. I do. However, there is a specific audience for them. He is a niche director. According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, his average directorial venture yields about $44 million. As a comparison his frequent collaborator, Quentin Tarantino, averages about $74 million. Tarantino only has three movies that have broken $100 million, and Rodriguez’s has two (Spy Kids 1 and 2). If fact, if you remove his six children’s movies, which generally see a higher rate of sales just because they’re kids movies, you see that his “adult” movies such as Desparado, Machete and The Faculty only yield a $30-million average. This is about what I expected from Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. It is still underperforming that prediction, but it could see a large boost in home video, much like Dredd saw a few years ago.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is a good return to the gritty world of Basin City, created by Frank Miller. It isn’t the best movie of the summer (Guardians of the Galaxy) or my guilty pleasure (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), but it is definitely one that I will buy on Blu-ray and watch with some regularity. I hope it isn’t another decade before the next installment.

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