Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

'Sin City: A Dame To Kill For' is a quality sequel to an exceptional, unique film. I gave 'Sin City' 4.5 stars and this film doesn't quite match the first film's graphic violence or pure originality. Having said that, however, there's still plenty to love about 'Sin City 2' - it's genuinely funny in parts, has the same great comic book-feel, with fantastic use of black & white, shadows and splashes of vivid colour to highlight certain aspects of a scene. The use of animation blends superbly with the actual actors and the score keeps everything moving.Returning from the first 'Sin City' film are Marv (Rourke), Nancy (Alba), Roark (Boothe), Gail (Dawson), Dwight (now Brolin, not Owen), Miho (now Chung, not Aoki), Manute (now Haysbert, not Clarke Duncan, due to obvious reasons) and Hartigan (Willis, in flashbacks). The characters don't get confusing or overwhelming, since the film's basically split into three inter-connected parts. There's Johnny (Gordon-Levitt) and his poker battles with the corrupt Senator Roark, then Ava (Green, who spends 50% of her screen-time naked - not a bad thing!) & Dwight's ill-fated romance, and finally Marv & Nancy's decision to do something about Roark. Almost each of the three parts has overlap with 3-5 characters from the other parts, all handled very well. There's also plenty of great supporting cast - Meloni, Piven, Lloyd, Liotta, Temple.I really enjoy how it looks like a comic book, but it could easily be the back streets of New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. There's some nice tie-ins back to the first film, still plenty of guns, swords and fighting - Marv/Rourke does remind me of Hellboy/Perlman a lot! - all done quickly (less than 100min) and stylishly.

When I saw all the negative reviews about this sequel, I thought that it would be yet another one trying to earn some easy bucks capitalising on the success of the original. However, that was not the case at least for me. It has the same nice atmosphere and effects as the first one and new interesting and unpredictable stories. Sure it is not as original as the first one (that would be an extremely difficult task to begin with) and maybe that is the only reason I put an 8 instead of a 9. However, if you enjoyed the first one you probably will enjoy this one as well. The new additions to the cast manage to fill the gaps of their predecessors quite well. I would advise anyone who wishes to watch this movie not to get overly influenced by ratings or how good was the first one and enjoy this sequel for what it is. A nice addition to the first one, like an extension of the concept. I would gladly watch and wait for sin city 3 if it is like this one. Cheers.

Hollywood's dirty little fingerprints are all over this sad sequel. Everything that made the first movie interesting and unique and compelling was painfully recycled in the sequel. The first half hour was pretty good actually, it seemed to pick up where the first one left off, different story, different characters but with the same noire backdrop and narrative. If I had to guess, the people who started off with this flick wanted to make a great follow up to the original but got screwed over by the studio suits seeking to remake the same movie while 'amping it up' in the process. Virtually all the same characters from the original make at least a cameo in the 2nd one...Why? I still can't figure that out because they contribute absolutely nothing to the story in the slightest. I think the suits decided that the average idiot movie goer likes to see characters that they remember and that's all there was to it. The worst part? It seems that Jessica Alba's agent demanded that she get at least 5 'stripper' scenes in the film so she could show off her assets. That alone wouldn't be the worst thing ever but they also had to give her actual lines and lets face it, she's probably the worst actress in existence today so watching her try to act is excruciating. But even if she was just gyrating on stage it would still have tainted the story because it was just way too much and served zero purpose other than to showcase her. The one high point of the film was that Eva Green wears little to nothing most of her time on screen which is delightful. Sadly it's not enough to save a crap movie. I was so disappointed by this abortion of a film, I was just hoping for a decent sequel, nothing amazing...and it disappointed virtually every step of the way.

Version I saw: UK cinema release (2D)Actors: 6/10Plot/script: 5/10Photography/visual style: 8/10Music/score: 7/10Overall: 7/10I have a lot of time for Sin City 2, and its precursor. They are fantastically violent, feature cartoonish villains and repugnant heroes, but they have one key advantage: they are unique. Nothing else looks like them.Both films are based on the iconic graphic novels by Frank Miller. He was partly credited with the revolutionary change in comics that made them suitable for adults but, for me, his work has always been more adolescent than adult. Miller is actually credited as co-director of Sin City 2, but I have my doubts about his input: you are better off considering this a Robert Rodriguez film.Although Sin City 2 has an overlay of film noir, I think the greater inspiration comes from Hong Kong action cinema such as the work of John Woo. The emphasis is on high style and arch-cool, with a lot of very violent action and much more nudity than any 1940s film noir could possibly hope to get away with.As with the first Sin City, the cast is peppered with stars. Some return for the sequel, and I am slightly disappointed by the absence of Clive Owen when Jessica Alba has been brought back despite her career dipping considerably in the 10 years since the original. The main new entrants are Eva Green (whose frequent nudity is so gratuitous that they had to make it a plot point), Josh Brolin (replacing Owen) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I generally like JGL, but in light of plot developments in the film, I found I had little sympathy for his character. The acting in general is not bad, but it is a bit... camp. Exaggerated. In fact, this is in keeping with the rest of the film, which has a sense throughout of over-the-topness.Yes, it can be a bit dumb, and at times totally preposterous, but I found that rather enjoyable, on a comedic level. There are more outright laughs in Sin City 2 than in many a pure comedy. Yes, it's not as good as the first Sin City, but there is still plenty to enjoy. Just sit back, let your brain go to sleep, and your eyes feast on the unique visuals.