Review: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Fans of Robert Rodriguez’s bold 2005 masterwork Sin City have been clamouring for a follow-up for almost ten years. I was one of them. Now that I’ve seen the late-arriving sequel, I can’t for the life of me work out why I ever thought it would be a good idea.

It’s difficult to identify exactly what this film lacks that its predeccessor possessed – they both look and sound the same – but there’s a definite lack of weightiness to the stories, most of which feel like they’re comprised of scenes deleted from the first film for being too boring.

The vignette following Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s gambler as he squares off against the great Powers Boothe initially displays potential, but it goes absolutely nowhere.

As the titular (sorry) femme fatale, French actress Eva Green has the most fun, just as she did in this year’s other Frank Miller adaptation sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire. What joy there is to be found here generally comes from her. And trying to work out where Mickey Rourke’s make-up ends and Mickey Rourke’s face begins.

Sin City‘s stylised noir-inflections felt like a breath of fresh air in 2005. The film’s iconic status should remain unvarnished by this underwhelming follow-up.

‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’ Movie Times (also in 3D)