Sin City: A Dame To Kill For Review Round-Up

Nearly a decade after the original Sin City brought the stylized noir of Frank Miller’s iconic comic book series to the big screen, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For arrives in theaters on August 22 to tell more stories about the characters living in the shadows of Basin City.

Early reviews for the film have begun rolling in. One can charitably call the reviews mixed, with reviews ranging from being solely negative to simply disappointed that the sequel couldn’t live up to its predecessor.

Maryann Johanson at flick filosopher, who claims to have loved the original Sin City, found no little to love about the sequel, calling it “An unnecessary sequel that’s empty and arduous, little more than vignettes on vengeance and cruel parades of sociopathic power performed as gleefully ultraviolent shadowplays.”

Conversely, Ben Rawson-Jones at Digital Spy feels that the sequel is flawed, but does at least enough right to justify its existence, saying, “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For isn’t the resounding triumph we craved, with its huge reliance on visual impact causing it to pale in comparison to its game-changing predecessor. But there are enough interesting moments shared with the intriguing characters of this nightmarish world to be glad that this sequel was finally made.”

Robbie Collin at The Telegraph says that the film doesn’t have much going for it, but that the superlative cast, particularly Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Eva Green, manage to elevate the quality of the material significantly, saying “If Sin City 2 has, for the most part, mustered a better cast than it deserves, at least they haul the material up to their level. The film’s greatest assets are Gordon-Levitt and Green, who remains as coolly aloof as a circling eagle, despite spending much of the film naked in a variety of provocative poses.”

Ali Gray at The Shiznit says that the film has an undeniable visual appeal, but that’s not enough to save the lackluster story, saying “There’s no doubt that between them, Rodriguez and Miller know how to pick a killer shot – it’s just a shame they can’t figure out how to tell a killer story. It’s as Brolin’s photographer Dwight says when taking pride in some of his sordid peep shots: ‘The sad thing is, some of the compositions were actually pretty good.’”

The short version is that your mileage may vary with Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, but that you should temper expectations. Some liked it more than others, but everyone seems to agree that it doesn’t live up to the expectations of the first Sin City film.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For opens in theaters August 22.