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Sin City
2:
A Dame to Kill For
(2014) |
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This
sequel offers a congested spaghetti junction of interlocking stories. It boasts
the same lush comic-book visuals, the same rasping gumshoe narration and many
of the old familiar locals (Mickey Rourke's beat-up pug; Jessica Alba's
gun-toting pole dancer). On the face of it, the landscape appears identical to
Rodriguez and Miller's original 2005 picture.
Some fun is to be had
amid the overheated twists and turns. Rodriguez and Miller trade in
disreputable teenage kicks and they lay the style on with a trowel. The film is
also played with the requisite gusto by Josh Brolin as a hapless private eye
and Eva Green as his raven-haired femme fatale.
Cool as a cucumber,
cocky young gambler Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) talks his way into a
high-stakes poker game with corrupt senator Roark (Powers Boothe). He wins, but
Roark isn’t going to let him get away with his money…if you clean out
a corrupt politician in Sin City, you’ve got to keep an eyes open for
pliers. And when those pliers come, Johnny vows vengeance. |
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Then there’s Nancy (Jessica Alba), who’s
biding her time as a stripper in a dive bar, where the honourable heavy Marv
(Mickey Rourke) keeps a watchful eye over her. She’s waiting for the right
moment to avenge the death of her mentor Hartigan (Bruce Willis), who – in
the first film – killed himself to protect Nancy from Roark.
When
Frank Miller’s Sin City graphic novels first made it to the big screen,
nine years before, it was a visual treat, unlike anything cinema had seen.
Familiar hard-boiled characters, in high-contrast black and white, with
occasional bursts of colour – mostly red for blood. It was a breath of
fresh air to fans of crime novels and comic books. The story-telling was basic,
but the style that lifted it off the screen gave it a breezy freshness that
made it a cinematic pleasure.
Returning to the same world, with many of
the same characters, this time it’s a little less original. With an large
number of muscle-bound hunks with impossibly gruff voices, an array of
scantily-clad women, with weapons ranging from swords to smiles, it’s like
an entertaining second vacation at the same package-holiday resort. If you
enjoyed it last time, another visit will tick the same boxes, but don’t
expect to see much that’s new.
As for the poker, its more
Cincinnati Kid than Rounders but its not a serious movie anyway. Enjoyable with
lots of violence.
CAST INCLUDES Jessica Alba, Powers Boothe, Josh
Brolin, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eva Green, Dennis Haysbert, Stacy
Keach, Jaime King, Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis,
Christopher Lloyd, Christopjher Meloni, Juno Temple, Julia Garner, Jude
Ciccolella, Lady Gaga |
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| Director |
Frank
Miller |
Mickey Rourke |
Marv |
| Producer |
Sergei
Bespalov et al |
Jessica Alba |
Nancy |
| Writing |
Frank
Miller |
Josh
Brolin |
Dwight |
| Cinematography |
Robert
Rodriguez |
Joseph Gordon-Levitt |
Johnny |
| Cert./Runtime |
R/18 /
102 mins |
Bruce
Willis |
Hartigan |
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