Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
(C or 2/4 stars)
Back in 2005, director Robert Rodriguez brought Frank Miller's sexy comic book series to the big screen, looking like a hyper-stylized, neo-film noir cartoon. This sequel - 9 yrs. later(!) - offers more of the same. Problem is: what once was groundbreaking & fresh now feels 'been there, done that', & the story/dialogue has regressed. 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' consists of 4 interwoven stories. In the 1st, Marv (Mickey Rourke) wreaks havoc against some rich frat boys who are killing homeless people {what a STUPID ass subplot}. In the 2nd, Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a cocky young gambler, strolls into Sin City, picks up Marcy (Julia Garner) as a 'good luck' charm, beats maniacal Sen. Roark (Powers Boothe) in a high-stakes poker game, & tries to escape from his henchmen unscathed.
In the 3rd segment, Dwight (Josh Brolin, taking over for Clive Owen in the '05 flick), a sulky private detective, succumbs - once again - to the seductive charms of duplicitous femme fatale Ava (Eva Green), who 'claims' she needs his help. And the 4th episode revolves around Nancy (Jessica Alba), an alcoholic stripper (though she never gets naked, mind you) who has been haunted by the death of her love, John Hartigan (Bruce Willis, as a ghost), focusing her rage on good 'ole Senator Roark; enlisting the aid of our vengeful, ever-willing Marv. All the while, our lead characters meet wayward husbands (Martin Csokas), loyal thugs (Dennis Haybert), back-alley "doctors" (Christopher Lloyd ... where have you BEEN?), ladies of the night (including Rosario Dawson), & other lost souls on the grim streets of Sin City. Film noir tropes, stylized black-&-white action, grotesque violence, & mayhem of varying categories ensue.
Directed by Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller, this movie is basically series of violent vignettes strung together with loosely connective narrative tissue & punctuated by cheesy, film noir dialogue. I was onboard with this film for a while; it feels like these stories are actually building to ... something. But instead, the whole thing sort of disintegrates as it goes. Rather than developing the characters/plots, the filmmakers simply turn the potentially intriguing crime stories into hardcore violence set pieces ripe with the bullets & spraying blood; in other words, there's lots of action, but nothing particularly interesting or clever going on. Moreover, the disturbing treatment of women hasn't changed. The treatment of women is straight from the source material; but that doesn't necessarily excuse it. The novelty of the stunning graphic visualizations from the 2005 film is gone (the effects haven't improved any for this type of art), therefore, the 'shock & awe' factor is deadened.
As the titular 'dame', Eva Green certainly looks like a film noir femme fatale (the side swept hair, the cigarettes). She flaunts her amazing figure in several gratuitous nude scenes. And there's energy in the movie whenever she's onscreen. I wasn't, however, bowled over by her line deliveries. Mickey Rourke is fun as our hulking protagonist, Marv. Jessica Alba is one beautiful woman, but I found her unconvincing as Nancy and, her storyline does her NO favors; she's also saddled with a horrid last line before the credits roll. Newcomers (to the story) Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Josh Brolin are pretty good in their roles. But again, I found their storylines to be subpar; particularly JGL's. I don't know WHY his storyline ended the way it does; given what he had to go through in the previous scene with the Christopher Lloyd character -- it was just stupid. The supporting cast also includes Jeremy Piven (in an irritating & thankless role), Ray Liotta (ditto), Stacy Keach (barely in it & hidden under mounds of make-up), & even Lady Gaga (in a head scratcher cameo. Like, why?).
So yeah, I can praise the monochromatic cinematography, bizarre production design, & striking green screen effects. I can attest that some of the violence/sex/nudity is well-staged and/or artfully done. And I liked a few performances. But really, 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' missed the mark for me. The gouging of eyes, the hacking of limbs, the angry sex, the ugly characterizations of these losers ... this type of movie is not everyone's cup of tea. I'm fine with this type of movie when it's done well. But this one isn't. It left me cold. I didn't care about a single person in the story. Cool visuals and other intangibles only took me so far because the whole endeavor was so emotionally lifeless & mediocre. Simply put, I went to this movie hoping to get a rush; a high. But it just didn't make me feel good. Meh.
In the 3rd segment, Dwight (Josh Brolin, taking over for Clive Owen in the '05 flick), a sulky private detective, succumbs - once again - to the seductive charms of duplicitous femme fatale Ava (Eva Green), who 'claims' she needs his help. And the 4th episode revolves around Nancy (Jessica Alba), an alcoholic stripper (though she never gets naked, mind you) who has been haunted by the death of her love, John Hartigan (Bruce Willis, as a ghost), focusing her rage on good 'ole Senator Roark; enlisting the aid of our vengeful, ever-willing Marv. All the while, our lead characters meet wayward husbands (Martin Csokas), loyal thugs (Dennis Haybert), back-alley "doctors" (Christopher Lloyd ... where have you BEEN?), ladies of the night (including Rosario Dawson), & other lost souls on the grim streets of Sin City. Film noir tropes, stylized black-&-white action, grotesque violence, & mayhem of varying categories ensue.
Directed by Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller, this movie is basically series of violent vignettes strung together with loosely connective narrative tissue & punctuated by cheesy, film noir dialogue. I was onboard with this film for a while; it feels like these stories are actually building to ... something. But instead, the whole thing sort of disintegrates as it goes. Rather than developing the characters/plots, the filmmakers simply turn the potentially intriguing crime stories into hardcore violence set pieces ripe with the bullets & spraying blood; in other words, there's lots of action, but nothing particularly interesting or clever going on. Moreover, the disturbing treatment of women hasn't changed. The treatment of women is straight from the source material; but that doesn't necessarily excuse it. The novelty of the stunning graphic visualizations from the 2005 film is gone (the effects haven't improved any for this type of art), therefore, the 'shock & awe' factor is deadened.
As the titular 'dame', Eva Green certainly looks like a film noir femme fatale (the side swept hair, the cigarettes). She flaunts her amazing figure in several gratuitous nude scenes. And there's energy in the movie whenever she's onscreen. I wasn't, however, bowled over by her line deliveries. Mickey Rourke is fun as our hulking protagonist, Marv. Jessica Alba is one beautiful woman, but I found her unconvincing as Nancy and, her storyline does her NO favors; she's also saddled with a horrid last line before the credits roll. Newcomers (to the story) Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Josh Brolin are pretty good in their roles. But again, I found their storylines to be subpar; particularly JGL's. I don't know WHY his storyline ended the way it does; given what he had to go through in the previous scene with the Christopher Lloyd character -- it was just stupid. The supporting cast also includes Jeremy Piven (in an irritating & thankless role), Ray Liotta (ditto), Stacy Keach (barely in it & hidden under mounds of make-up), & even Lady Gaga (in a head scratcher cameo. Like, why?).
So yeah, I can praise the monochromatic cinematography, bizarre production design, & striking green screen effects. I can attest that some of the violence/sex/nudity is well-staged and/or artfully done. And I liked a few performances. But really, 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' missed the mark for me. The gouging of eyes, the hacking of limbs, the angry sex, the ugly characterizations of these losers ... this type of movie is not everyone's cup of tea. I'm fine with this type of movie when it's done well. But this one isn't. It left me cold. I didn't care about a single person in the story. Cool visuals and other intangibles only took me so far because the whole endeavor was so emotionally lifeless & mediocre. Simply put, I went to this movie hoping to get a rush; a high. But it just didn't make me feel good. Meh.