Enjoy a better rendition of fifty shades of grey (with some red) in Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

It’s taken nine years to summon up the courage to crawl back to Basin ‘Sin’ City, and the old town hasn’t changed much in the intervening years. Oh, sure, Clive Owen looks a lot like Josh Brolin now and I’m not sure Miho is the same (Jamie Chung replacing Devon Aoki) but the city still stinks of fear and corruption, enduring the ruthless and sleazy domination of Senator Roark but this time there’s a new dame – a dame to kill for.

When the first “Sin City” film came out, it was rightly lauded for its breathtakingly stark palette, literally bringing the hyper-stylised noir vision of the original graphic novels to life on the screen. In the intervening years, the tricks and techniques have been repeated and enhanced, notably by Zack Snyder, and robbed of its visual uniqueness, what does another trip to this sordid little borough have to offer?

The answer is: a lot. Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez have lost none of their visceral cinematic vision or gritty narrative drive in the intervening years. The stylised visuals of “A Dame To Kill For” are even better in 3D without ever having to resort to the gimmicky ‘things flying at the screen’ approach and while it picks up important plotlines from the previous film, it’s easy enough for a novice to dive straight in and get a sense of how the land lies in Sin City.

The cast make the most of their hard boiled roles, and none end up with egg on their faces. Jessica Alba makes a welcome return as an embittered and broken Nancy while Mickey Roarke’s near-invulnerable man mountain Marv anchors all the intertwining stories, which all centre around Powers Boothe’s vicious and cruel Senator Roark. The newcomers, though, are what give this movie its power and while Josh Brolin and Joseph Gordon Levitt fit right in, it’s Eva Green who gives the movie its title in a role ripped straight out of a “Dallas” script-writer’s fevered nightmares. Putting the fatal in femme fatale, Green holds almost literally nothing back as the scheming and manipulative Ava, weaving everyone around her into her web of deceit and double cross. When I first saw Eva Green in “Casino Royale”, I wasn’t that impressed but I have to say the more I’ve seen of her, the more I’ve liked her and quite frankly, I don’t think there’s much more of her for me to see after her revealing role in this. The violence and gore are the same as the first film, but there’s a great deal more nudity in this instalment than I recall in its predecessor. I doubt there were many line items in the production budget for Eva Green’s wardrobe, that’s for sure.

This graphic novel adaptation loses none of its graphic qualities as it moves medium. It’s as tough, misogynistic and bleak as the noir thrillers it homages but with a decidedly modern, graphic approach to violence, nudity and sex.

“Sin City: A Dame To Kill For” is a stylish, classy and fiercely entertaining 100 minutes. For some reason, Robert Rodriguez is having a tough time at the box office just now, with his last few films suffering disappointing openings but the box office is the ficklest of mistresses, and this is one you shouldn’t let slip past you onto DVD. Sin City’s a big town, and it belongs on a big screen.

sin city a dame to kill for review
Score 8/10


Hi there! If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up to get new posts sent straight to your inbox?

Sign up to receive a weekly digest of The Craggus' latest posts.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Laura O
10 years ago

I really liked the first one so I’m glad the follow up is good. I’m looking forward to seeing it.

logo

Related posts

Star Trek: Picard S1E06 – The Impossible Box

Star Trek: Picard S1E06 - The Impossible Box

Six episodes in, Star Trek Picard finally gets to the point. *SPOILERS* We may have taken the long and painfully slow way round, but finally “Star Trek: Picard” brings its two storylines together and finds its Trekness again as Picard and co arrive at the Borg Reclamation Project and...

Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum

The away team's away with the fairies in Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum. *SPOILERS* If you type the title of this week’s episode "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" into Google Translate, you get “If you want peace, prepare Geller”, [Editor's note - I swear this happened at the time of writing...

Robot Overlords (2015) Review

Robot Overlords (2015) Review

I, for one, think you'll welcome Robot Overlords. Although it borrows much of its imagery from “Oblivion” – itself a portmanteau of various other Sci-Fi classics – “Robot Overlords” plays out like a long-lost John Wyndham novel, combining the alien and unfamiliar with the mundane...

Treehouse Of Horror XXII

Treehouse Of Horror XXII

It's another long-form 'short intro' for 2011's Treehouse Of Horror XXII beginning with the kids coming back from trick or treating to be met by Marge's latest wheeze: the Switch Witch who takes candy and swaps it for healthy items. Lying to Marge that he will donate the confiscated...

The Lego Batman Movie (2017) Review

The Lego Batman Movie (2017) Review

Not everything is awesome in The Lego Batman Movie After his scene-stealing turn in “The Lego Movie”, it was only natural that the first spin-off would feature the brick knight himself. While it’s not entirely clear if this is the exact same Lego Batman who appeared alongside Wildstyle...

Spy (2015) Review

Spy (2015) Review

I…um…observe with my optic nerve, something beginning with ‘S’. Much like “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” was for Spielberg, “Spy” is Paul Feig’s take on a Bond movie, based on the not unreasonable supposition that ‘they’d never let him direct one’. After seeing this, though, they just...

Ender’s Game (2013) Review

Ender's Game (2013) Review

Ender's Game feels smaller on the big screen. I’d heard of “Ender’s Game” before but never got around to reading it. When I learned they were making a movie of it, I figured I should probably check it out before I saw the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and was curious about how it...

Last Breath (2025) Review

Last Breath (2025) Review

Last Breath will have you waiting to exhale. Moving from documentary to drama should be a natural evolution, especially when you've already told the story once. But with Last Breath, director Alex Parkinson seems hesitant to explore the depths available in the genre, keeping one foot on...