Almost a decade later, “Sin City” returns with a sequel. J.P. loved the original … does he love “A Dame to Kill For?”
FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 102 mins
Directed by Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller
Produced by Robert Rodriguez, Aaron Kaufman, Stephen L’Heureux, Sergei Bespalov, Alexander Rodnyansky, Mark Manuel
Written by Frank Miller
Based on Sin City by Frank Miller
Starring Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green
Studio Synopsis:
Co-directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller reunite to bring Miller’s visually stunning “Sin City” graphic novels back to the screen in SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR. Weaving together two of Miller’s classic stories with new tales, the town’s most hard boiled citizens cross paths with some of its more reviled inhabitants. SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR is the follow up to Rodriguez and Miller’s 2005 groundbreaking film, FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY.
J.P.’s Take:
“Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” isn’t a huge departure from it’s predecessor. As a matter of fact, think of it as “Sin City’s” twin only – nine – years – apart.
“Dame” packs the same grisly aesthetics as before, with an engrossing four vignette story structure instead of the six as in the original. Filmed in black and white with pops of color to heighten the mood, part 2 is also laced with lust, greed, murder, deceit and mystery, which still lurks the streets of this fictitious city.
Most likely followers of the first will gravitate towards this follow-up as I did, mainly for its impressive visuals, intertwining plot and memorable characters. However, if you’re someone new to the realm of “Sin City,” you would probably get lost in the shuffle. At least three of the vignettes serve both as a sequel and prequel to “Sin City,” yet two of the narratives are newly created specifically for this film. “Nancy’s Last Dance” ties up the loose ends of Nancy Callahan’s (Jessica Alba) story, while “The Long Bad Night” features a fresh new story featuring Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a young cocky, highly successful gambler.
Familiar characters have returned with some personnel changes in the actors who play certain roles. Instead of Clive Owen playing Dwight, Josh Brolin has taken his place. Devon Aoki played the skilled assassin Miho, now that role has been handed over to Jamie Chung. The late great Michael Clarke-Duncan solidified the character of Manute originally, but Dennis Haysbert does the character justice in this follow-up.
Getting off to a brutal yet enthralling start is Marv’s (Mickey Rourke) narrative,“Just Another Saturday Night.” He awakens to a scene of a car crash on the side of the freeway, with several dead college punks and totaled police car. With no memory of how he got there or what happened that night, he racks his brain to retrace his steps. This incident has to do with Marv’s violent past and a moment where he leaves Kadie’s saloon. He encounters four spoiled rich college punks who are about to set a homeless man on fire. Marv dispenses his own brand of justice upon the thugs, which sparks a violent rampage leading up to his blackout. It’s certainly an engraining, bloody, bone crunching incident.
Following Marv’s story is “The Long Bad Night,” involving Johnny, the fortunate gambler, who strolls into Sin City. He hits up Kadie’s saloon where he strikes it rich on the slots right off the bat. Johnny attracts the attention of a saucy waitress named Marcie (Julia Garner), whom becomes his good luck charm. With Marcie on his arm and a bag full of money Johnny buys his way into a back room high stakes poker game. What he doesn’t realize is that he’s playing with a card shark, on the most corrupt politicians in Sin City Senator Roark (Powers Booth). Winning hand after hand of poker, the Senator’s right hand man, Lieutenant Liebowitz, tells Johnny he’d better get out of town and fast. Roark isn’t happy with this kid’s cockiness or his lucky streak. This puts him and Marcie in a world pain and suffering. He comes upon on a couple of saviors who lend him a helping hand, an unlicensed doctor Kroenig (Christopher Lloyd) and a waitress named Bertha (Lady GaGa). There is a connection there that leads to his rise from the ashes.
The piece de resistance here would be the titular vignette “A Dame to Kill For,” that stars the delectably ferocious Eva Green as Ava Lord. This is a story carried over from “Sin City” in the vignette “The Big Fat Kill,” where Dwight McCarthy attempts to put his savage past behind him and start anew. Working as a private eye and living a sober life, Dwight still struggles with his inner demons. One night while on a stake out, he peers through a penthouse skylight on a businessman named Joey (Ray Liotta), who is cheating on his wife with Sally (Juno Temple), the hooker he’s having the affair with. Dwight receives a phone call from an ex-lover – Ava Lord – who left him for a wealthy tycoon Damian Lord (Marton Csokas). In her manipulative ways, she seduces Dwight once again to meet with her, despite bitter hatred for her. He decides to meet after all. Ava begs for forgiveness and adds that she’s afraid for her life, as Manute, her gargantuan bodyguard and chauffer, stands by to escort her home. Dwight is once again haunted by his ex and breaks into the Lord estate, where he finds Ava taking a swim. He’s beaten up and thrown out by Manute just to mess with him. When Dwight returns to his home he caught off guard by a nude Ava and attempts to evict her, yet can’t escape her seductive ways. They end up making love, but to make a long story short Ava knows Dwight all to well and exploit his weaknesses to the hilt.
To sum up this up the sinful fable is “Nancy’s Last Dance,” which focuses Nancy Callahan’s vengeful side. Although this story is a newly constructed for this particular film, it ties up loose ends between John Hartigan and Senator Roark. Taking place four years after the vignette in Sin City “That Yellow Bastard,” Nancy tries to cope with the suicide of Hartigan. Knowing that Senator Roark is responsible for his death, she becomes a paranoid alcoholic bent on vengeance. Still despondent and reeling with heartache, Hartigan’s spirit follows her, aiding her from the afterlife. On the same night as Johnny’s incident, Nancy does her routine on stage at Kadie’s, where she attempts to take down Senator Roark. She points her gun she used as a prop towards Roark, but can’t commit to pulling the trigger. Hartigan’s ghostly influence continues to coax Nancy to mount an assault on Senator Roark, as she teams up with Marv who feels her pain. You’ll see Nancy travel to that dark place in her mind in order to follow through with her plan.
The cast is rounded out by fresh new faces and familiars such, including Jamie King in dual roles as Goldie and twin sister Wendy. Rosario Dawson reprises her role as Gail, leader of the gang of deadly Old Town prostitutes. Alexa PenaVega returns as Gilda, one of the Old Town prostitutes. New comers Stacy Keach plays mob boss Wallenquist, while Christopher Meloni takes on the role of Detective Mort. Jeremy Piven pairs up with Mort as his partner Bob. Even Lady GaGa makes a brief but somewhat important appearance as waitress Bertha.
“Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” earns its R rating with creatively seductive nude scenes involving Eva Green, graphically violent scenes hidden in whited out silhouettes and colorless bloody splatters. As a whole “A Dame to Kill For” is fast paced and just as vicious as its forerunner; yet the novelty has somewhat worn off. Still I enjoyed it.