You got to Respect Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, the anti-establishment duo who gave us the first Sin City film based on Millers' graphic novels. After a nine-year break, the guys bring back a bolder, over-sexed and with some colour neo-noir Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For. Let's dig in.
The first thing that struck me is how Rodriguez - who co -directs, edits, shot, created the sound score and did the visual effects - has perfected the neo-noir style that the two brought to life in the first film. There's some great compositing with a semblance blend of different shots that look natural in one single frame.
The make-up effects look more natural and the added on colour is not distracting. Although it would have been nice if the colour had a greater significance than just an aesthetic appeal. Yet Sin City is big on aesthetics; this is a film where function follows form. It's all about the look and the story fits into the look.
Yet unlike the first Sin City, 'A Dame to Kill For' has a more concrete theme that runs throughout the stories than the first one did. The theme is more cohesive - which I can reduce to the nihilism of taking on those with power; whether the power be money/politics ( the Rorke's; the bad guys from the first flick) or sex ( Eva Green's Ava) .
A Dame to Kill For gives you all the scenarios that take place when the small man takes on the big guns; with added sex, nudity, vice and some very pretty pictures thrown in for good measure.
It's not just the visual that shines but the characters too. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Johnny is brilliant - showcasing the different range Gordon-Levitt has shown in films such as Looper to Don Juan.
Josh Brolin, reprising the role played by Clive Owen in the previous film, also brings his A-game as Dwight. Humphrey Bogart would be impressed with how these guys embody the tough guys of film noir. Yet Eva Green sizzles as Ava, the femme fatale of the piece - I'm still not convinced about Jessica Alba.
In a clever little twist the prequel/sequel mash-up gets us to see some of the characters who died in the frst movie and the consequences for those who outlived the first movie so Mickey Rourke is back as Marv, Rosario Dawson and her gun toting prostitutes are back too and watch out for a cameo by one Lady Gaga.
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is what it is - hardboiled noir film painted in CG effects. Miller and Rodriguez embrace it's pulp roots and are not ashamed of it. The men are rough with soft goey centres, the women are sexy with cold as nail centres; the characters may be a bit cliched but Sin City, even after nine years, is a guilty pleasure I can watch over and over again - and not just for the visuals, i loved it's theme. Especially in these days of #paybackthemoney, it's always good to see the little man take on the big man.
Rating ***1/2
*junk **almost bearable ***now we cooking ****almost perfect *****classic ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++