(SPOILER WARNING!!! This article does contain spoilers, if you haven’t seen the movie, just see the first paragraph to be informed without spoilers!!!)

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is visually stunning like the first movie, they definitely made it edgier and more violent than the first movie, but the stories weren’t as good as the first movie, however, if you’re a fan of the first movie and/or graphic novels, you will enjoy it. Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars.

I remember when the first movie of Sin City came out, and how iconic it was. In my opinion, it was a breakthrough of graphic designs and visual effects, and it gave more freedom for movies to do anything deemed necessary for the sake of special effects eye candy. It influenced movies in the future to do the same. Some great ones like 300, and some bad ones like The Spirit. Regardless, it was a different kind of treat to watch and enjoy, and hoped the sequel would be just as good. I will start with what I liked, to the so so, to what I didn’t like.

What I liked, this movie did not disappoint in graphic designs and special effects. It is everything you are expecting in a Sin City movie. Like the first one, it used its special effects to really tell the story to your eye, and I loved that. The first movie was also known for its graphic violence. I mean a guy got his testicles ripped off. (Still shudder when I think of that scene.) In this movie they really upped the ante in violence. When Josh Brolin’s character, Dwight McCarthy, ripped off Manute’s eye, played by Dennis Haysbert, really made me squinge in agony. I believe it was more graphic than the testicle scene in the first one, because they actually used blood instead of yellow paint. (Yes, too much blood can make me cringe a little). There was also a part where McCarthy’s face almost got shot off, and you can see his eye almost popping out. That made me cringe as well, and made me debate what is more cringeworthy, eye injuries or testicles injury. (I don’t know, y’all can comment at the bottom, and let me know what y’all think.) In this movie they stepped up their nudity game. You practically see Eva Green, playing Ava Lord, naked throughout the movie. She was naked so much, that when she out clothes on, it looked weird on her. The story I liked the most was the main story, A Dame to Kill For. Pretty much McCarthy was seduced by Ava to trick him in killing her husband so she could get his fortune. Then McCarthy gets a team to exact revenge on her. Mickey Rourke reprises his role as Marv, and he is still a beast from the first movie. (I swear he can’t die no matter what.) I like the face off between Marv and Manute, cuz it was a blow for blow where Marv wins, and ending it with the tanking of the eye. (Still shuddering.) I liked that the beautiful Rosario Dawson’s character, Gail, had a better role in this movie and helping McCarthy act his revenge. Eva Green played a good villainous role as Ava Lord by using her sexiness and seduction and almost succeeding. Christopher Lloyd’s brief cameo as an underground Doctor, Dr. Kroenig, was great to see and reminded me that Lloyd is still alive and well. 

The so so, as I said before, they really upped the ante in their violence, but sometimes the violence can be too forced. I liked Sin City for their mostly down to Earth approach, but in the second it got to unrealistic. (Almost Fast and Furious unrealistic.) Most notably the scene in A Dame to Kill For story where Miho, played by the beautiful Jaime Chung, doing some defying gravity jumps and flips to chop people’s heads off with her katana. The other stories seemed to be subpar than from the first film, but they pretty much deal with same theme which is revenge. Two of the stories deal with the same villain which is Senator Roark, played by Powers Booth, a corrupt politician that greeds money and power. The first story which was chopped into two halves deals with a cocky gambler named Johnny, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who wanted to go against Senator Roark in poker. He beats him, and gets beaten nearly to death. That’s where we find out that Johnny is actually Senator Roark’s abandoned son. After he comes back from his injuries, he plays him again to beat him again which gives him the bragging rights. I guess that is more important than his life, cuz Senator Roark shot him on the spot. That story really didn’t have any good feeling or emotion for me as a revenge story. The other story involves the beautiful Jessica Alba reprising her role as the dancer Nancy Callahan. (I call her a dancer not a stripper, cuz strippers suppose to strip their clothes off not just dance.) She wants to kill Senator Roark for causing her love, John Hartigan reprised by Bruce Willis, to commit suicide. She teams up with the immortal Marv to infiltrate the Senator’s house, and manages to shoot him dead. I tell you, you see a lot of rage in Nancy and how it does affect her, and you get why she wants revenge, and she finally gets it.

What I didn’t like, I believe the Pulp Fiction format of making movies non-linear order needs to stop. It was great when Pulp Fiction did it, cuz it brought the element of surprise, but now it is just being overused. Sin City used that format and it just made it straight out confusing, especially when some scenes are a prequel to the the first movie, and some scenes  are the sequel of the movie. It just creates a horrible mess, and it needs to stop. Other than that, why director Robert Rodriguez needs to mess with Jessica Alba’s beautiful face. I know it’s to show how crazy she has gotten in her obsession with revenge, but I don’t want to see scars on her face. She’s too beautiful for that, even if her acting is subpar.

Overall, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For wasn’t as great as the first movie, but for fans alike of this movie and graphic novels will still find this enjoyable to sit back and watch!!! Final Rating 3.5 out of 5.

(Sidenote: Winter’s Tale- They sell this movie as a love story featuring Colin Farrell. (I will let you laugh, and continue.) It is story about a former burglar, who escapes from his boss, played by Russell Crowe, who happens to be a demon of some sort. Apparently Colin Farrell’s character has to fulfill his his destiny, which leads to him meeting a girl, played by Jessica Brown Findlay, and falling in love with her. It is a a weird love story with a shaky plot, but I also see a sub story as the battle versus good and evil. The good in Colin Farrell’s character and his guardian horse that can fly named Horse. (I know a very original name.) The bad in the demon of Russell Crowe, who is lead by Lucifer, played by Will Smith. (A very creepy scene with Will Smith showing why he is Lucifer.) All in all, the movie did have some great feeling and emotion, but I believe if you’re a fan of the book, you will hate it. Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars.)