Review of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) by Victor T — 30 Apr 2015

In 2005, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller surprised audiences with their stylistic and over the top adaptation of "Sin City" so it was more than obvious that it would get a sequel but it wasn't until 2014 that both "Sin City" and "300" (another adaptation of Frank Miller´s work and it had a similar visual style) finally got their sequels. Was the ten year gap worth it?

Set before and after the events of the last film, "A Dame to Kill For" provides three stories regarding new and familiar faces in the chaotic Sin City.

If read my review of the original "Sin City" you will know that I really didn't find it as groundbreaking and amazing as most ´people consider it, I strongly believe that it only worked due to its noir/shot by shot adaptation style, and as I mention in my review of "300 Rise of an Empire" it is extremely difficult to make a sequel to a film that surprised us with its visual style and "Sin City A Dame to Kill For" is not an exception of this rule. "Sin City A Dame to Kill For" repeats most elements that made its predecessor a hit: The noir visual style, the same stereotypical characters, obviously the same setting, Miller´s ego is all over the place, the stories presented here mostly follow the pattern of the ones that were told almost ten years ago, to the point where it almost fells the same regarding two storylines; most of the actors are as energetic and over the top as the last time, the dark atmosphere is remade perfectly, Rodriguez´s directing consist of remaking what he already did last time, and the cartoony violence is amped up. So if "A Dame to Kill For" follows the "Sin City formula" to such a degree, then why was this film not as well received? The answer is simple: The visual style was an intriguing experiment by Rodriguez and Miller that mostly paid off thanks to its surprise and shock value; but regarding a sequel, audiences will be expecting the same noir style and so it takes most of the predecessor´s power away. That's why most reviews you will find about this film say "it lacks the charm of the original".

"Sin City A Dame to Kill For" is almost identical to its predecessor but taken to a new level of campiness. It doesn't create anything new but it delivers just what people wanted: More of these characters and its unique setting.