Robert Rodriguez Month - Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)

          Hey guys, Chuck here. This is it, the final review of Robert Rodriguez Month. And, of course, we're wrapping things up with the 2014 film Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Released in 2014, and once again co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, this Sin City sequel would take a different turn, as only two stories were pulled from the original graphic novels: "Just Another Saturday Night" and the titular "A Dame to Kill For," with two original stories, "The Long Bad Night" and "Nancy's Last Dance," being written exclusively for the movie by Frank Miller. This movie would see the return of original movie cast members Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Powers Boothe, Mickey Rourke, Jaime King, and Bruce Willis, with new cast members including Josh Brolin, Eva Green, Marton Csokas, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dennis Haysbert, Jamie Chung, Christopher Lloyd, Ray Liotta, Juno Temple, Lady Gaga, Julia Garner, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Meloni, and Stacy Keach. 

        The movie opens with the segment "Just Another Saturday Night," where Marv wakes up on the highway overlooking his childhood neighborhood of The Projects, surrounded by dead bodies and wrecked cars. Remembering back to the start of his night, we see Marv was at Kadie's, and decided to leave, only to find a homeless guy being assaulted by a trio of frat boys from Sacred Oaks. Marv tries to shoo them off, but the leader of the frat boys remarks "Go back into your bottle, Bernini boy." Marv, mishearing this as the kid calling him "Bernie," gives chase in a hijacked police car, and leads them to the Projects. Marv, with help from his old neighbors in the Projects, take down the remaining two frat boys, leaving the leader for Marv, who asks why the kid called him "Bernie." The kid clarifies that he said "Bernini," which was the brand of coat Marv was wearing. After finishing the kid off, Marv thinks back to where he got the coat, as well as his gloves, remarking "I can't remember for the life of me." 

        We then cut into the story "The Long Bad Night," which in a manner similar to "That Yellow Bastard" in the first movie, is split into two parts. The segment focuses on a cocky young gambler named Johnny, who rolls into Sin City looking for his next score. After hitting a number of casinos across town, Johnny arrives at Kadie's, where he catches the eye of a young barmaid called Marcie, and she gets excited with his lucky hand at slots. However, when he asks about the "real action," he's pointed to a back room of the bar, where Senator Roark, Commissioner Liebowitz, and a few other unsavory individuals are playing poker. Johnny joins in the game, playing a number of winning hands, and beating Senator Roark, who feigns congratulations for Johnny's skills. Liebowitz warns Johnny to get out of town, but Johnny has already promised Marcie a night on the town.

        This segment also sees Nancy, whose been battling a bit of depression and a thirst for vengeance since Hartigan's death, is drinking quite a bit, and is looking to kill Roark, but is still hesitant. Hartigan's ghost, who pops up here and there, is worried about what will happen when Nancy finally does pull the trigger. Anyway, back to Johnny, who is enjoying a night on the town with Marcie, until he finds his cards have been cut off. Also, two thugs are following them, and Johnny easily takes them both out, and sends Marcie away so she can be safe. Roark and his men soon arrive, and make an example of him, and breaks the fingers on Johnny's right hand. And, it's here where Senator Roark reveals that Johnny is his son, but only recognizes Roark Jr., whom the Senator calls Ethan, as his legitimate child. After Roark drives off, Johnny vows to come back, and that their next encounter will be very different. 

         We then head to the titular segment "A Dame to Kill For," where Dwight McCarthy, well before he acquired the face he had in "The Big Fat Kill," is photographic a man named Joey, who is cheating on his wife with a young woman named Sally. And, just before Joey can kill her, Dwight drops through the skylight and knocks Joey unconscious, taking Sally back to Old Town. Dwight then takes the photos of Joey to Joey's wife, whose lawyer cover's Dwight's fee. Returning home, Dwight receives a call from his ex-lover Ava Lord, who is desperate to see him, having him meet her at Kadie's. And, it's here where she claims to be in a bad spot, with her husband Damien being a sadistic bastard. Dwight dismisses her claims, as she broke his heart to be with a wealthy individual, and the Lord family valet Manute arrives to escort Ava back home. 

        Dwight, clearly unable to get Ava out of his head, drives to the Lord estate, in order to see what's happening. However, it seems Ava is just fine, and Damien's men, along with Manute, knock Dwight unconscious and drive him back to his apartment. Ava, however, is waiting for him, and the two wind up having sex, despite Dwight's protests. Ava then goes out of her way to claim that Damien uses Manute to physically torment her in ways that are truly sadistic. Manute arrives, knocks Dwight out of the window, and takes Ava back home. Dwight, now convinced he has to save Ava, recruits Marv into storming the Lord estate, knocking out Damien's men, and taking out one of Manute's eyes. Dwight, meanwhile, kills Damien, who has no clue of what's going on, and Ava reveals she set the whole thing up, and shoots Dwight out of the window. Marv picks Dwight up, slides him into a car, and drives off with the police in tow. Marv wants to drive Dwight to the hospital, but Dwight insists on going to Old Town instead, as the police won't go there. 

         Two, detectives, Bob and Mort, arrive to investigate the scene at the Lord estate, and Mort reassures Ava that everything will be okay. In Old Town, one cop car continues giving chase, implying that the driver is a rookie, and the car is destroyed by the girls of Old Town. Gail demands to know what Marv led the police into Old Town, and Dwight gets her attention. Gail calls for Molly, who starts patching Dwight up. Unfortunately, Goldie and Wendy want Dwight gone, but he insists on staying, with Gail vouching for him, going as far as telling Miho about the man that saves her from two Tong gangsters who almost had her, and the man who saved her was Dwight. Miho, now showing a sense of loyalty to Dwight, sheathes her blade, and Dwight has time for more surgery and recuperation in Old Town. As for why Gail vouched for Dwight? Well, apparently he's the only man she'll ever truly love. 

        Mort, similar to Dwight, is slowly manipulated by Ava, and he starts to see her, cheating on his own wife with Ava, and being reprimanded for his antics by Bob. And, when Ava learns that Dwight is getting better, and will be coming back for revenge soon, Ava demands Mort go and kill Dwight for her, despite Mort's protests and claims that the police can't legally move on Old Town. Clearly out of his mind, and pretty much pussy whipped, Mort starts driving himself and Bob to Old Town, claiming to be doing his job in apprehending a murderer. However, Bob pushes it too far, and Mort kills him, and then kills himself. Ava then attempts to seduce mob boss Wallenquist, who is willing to aid Ava in killing Dwight, offering to call in a specialist from Texas. Manute, whose missing eye is replaced with a gold eye, meets the specialist at the train station, and the specialist gets into a car with a woman who's picking him up. It turns out that the specialist is Dwight with a new face, and the woman is Gail in a wig. 

        At the Lord estate, Manute reveals he saw through Dwight's new face, and was able to recognize him from his eyes, but takes him to Ava anyway. Gail, working with Miho, cause a distraction, and take down Ava's men pretty easily. Dwight gets into a brawl with Manute, who is shot by Ava. Ava tries to seduce Dwight back to her side, but remembering who she is, pulls the trigger of his gun and kills her. Hearing the sirens approaching, Dwight, Gail, and Miho decide to take the old bootlegger roads to avoid being caught. 

       Back to Johnny in the events of "The Long Bad Night," we see him find a back alley doctor named Kroenig, who still performs surgical work for payment, but had his medical license revoked due to his heroin use. In exchange for fourth dollars and his shoes, Kroenig takes the bullet out of Johnny's leg, and resets the finger bones on Johnny's right hand. Walking out into the rainy streets of Sin City, Johnny comes to the realization that Marcie may be in danger, and rushes to the hotel he sent her to, only to find Roark and his men there, having dismembered Marcie. Yeesh. 

       Johnny finds himself in a local diner, where a waitress named Bertha gives him a glass of water and a dollar bill. Taking the dollar, Johnny returns to Kadie's, exchanges the dollar for a coin, and wins big at a slot machine, all with the goal of finishing his business with Roark, even possibly killing the Senator. Back at the poker table, Johnny gets into the game, and plays a card shark's gambit to put Roark at ease. And, when it's his turn to deal, Johnny reveals himself to be ambidextrous, and shuffles the deck with his not-broken hand. Going all in against Roark, the two show their hands: Roark has four Kings, but Johnny has four Aces, which is the higher hand. So, Johnny has beaten Roark twice, proving to be better than his own father. Unwilling to roll over, Roark pulls a gun and kills Johnny, ordering his men to dump the body, and the game resumes. 

         The final segment is "Nancy's Last Dance," where we see that yes, indeed, Nancy has been drinking more, leaving flowers at Hartigan's grave, and even got ahold of Hartigan's old revolver, practicing with it at the gun range. What is her aim? Avenge Hartigan, the love of her life, by killing Senator Roark. What follows is Nancy going through the motions, dancing at Kadie's, cutting her hair, and eventually her face. She also continuously sees Hartigan's ghost, who sees her cutting her face and remarks "If a man did that to you, I'd kill him." Listening to him, Nancy gets an idea. 

        Using her friend Marv, who is always willing to help her, she shows her facial scars to him. And when he asks for a name, she replies with one name: "Roark." Marv and Nancy take down a group of bikers, nab their weapons and bikes, and ride off to the Roark compound. Marv causes a ruckus, and takes down Roark's men, clearing the way for Nancy. But, when Nancy reaches the Senator, he gets a shot off, taking her down. And, as she reaches for her gun, he takes another shot. And, it's her where he finally accepts that his son, Ethan Jr., was never Presidential material, but was still his son, and would hear Nancy scream. Roark sees Hartigan's ghost in the mirror, turns around, and Nancy shoots him, getting back on her feet. Looking the Senator in the eye, she remarks, "This is for John Hartigan, fucker," and kills Senator Roark, ending the movie. 

         So, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is certainly just as entertaining and visually breathtaking as the original, but is lacking in terms of story and acting. Now, some returning players like Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, and Powers Boothe were excellent, and the likes of Rosario Dawson, Jaime King, and Patricia Vonne were decent returning faces. However, the newcomers are more of a mixed bag. While I thoroughly enjoyed the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christopher Lloyd, and Lady Gaga, actors who replace original movie actors like Josh Brolin, Dennis Haysbert, Jamie Chung, and Ray Liotta were a bit more hit-or-miss. Now, as both Dennis Haysbert and Jamie Chung are concerned, they had big shoes to fill, as both Michael Clarke Duncan and Devon Aoki were fantastic favorites as both Manute and Miho in the original movie. Similarly, while Josh Brolin does a decent job as Dwight in this movie, I, like many Sin City fans, prefer Clive Owen's portrayal of Dwight from the first movie. However, I did find myself enjoying Jeremy Piven as Bob a bit more than Michael Madsen's portrayal of Bob in the first Sin City. And, of course, Christopher Meloni as Mort was fantastic, and the car scenes he had with Jeremy Piven as Bob were a highlight for me. Also, as a fan of Sin City, it was nice to see the character of Weevil, who is the local informant in Sin City, get a bit more than the silent cameo he had in the first movie. Kudos to Johnny Reno for his portrayal of Weevil in this movie, it was pretty fun. 

        Really, though, it's the stories being told here that I really want to focus on. Having the Marv centric short story "Just Another Saturday Night" as the film's opening segment was, in my opinion, very smart, as Marv is a fan favorite, and it really sets up how much of a role Mickey Rourke has in this movie, as he and Jessica Alba as Nancy were really the main through line of the movie in a manner similar to Brittany Murphy as Shellie in the original movie. Unfortunately, the film's titular story, "A Dame to Kill For," was not really as enjoyable, as it really felt sluggish in places and rushed in others. Now, what's interesting about this is that Rodriguez and Miller has a difficult time casting an actress to play Ava Lord before finally casting Eva Green in the role. For instance, actresses like Salma Hayek, Rose McGowan, and Angelina Jolie were all considered, and at one point Rachel Weisz was a front runner to play Ava. And, if you ask me, Rachel Weisz actually LOOKS like Ava in the comics, so she would have been perfect. But, Eva Green got the part, and she did a decent job playing the conniving femme fatale Ava Lord. 

         As for the two stories written exclusively for the movie by Frank Miller himself, both "The Long Bad Night" and "Nancy's Last Dance" were really good, with the former being the best of the two. Hell, I would actually like to see the story of "The Long Bad Night" actually get turned into an official Sin City graphic novel by Frank Miller. The story of a gambler coming into Sin City for his next big score, only to run afoul of Senator Roark, who turns out to be his father, is an absolutely terrific concept, and it helps illustrate just how evil Senator Roark really is. And, this segment marks the first time since Angels in the Outfield that we've seen Joseph Gordon-Levitt share the screen with Christopher Lloyd. "Nancy's Last Dance," however, really only exists to illustrate the downward spiral Nancy went through after the death of Hartigan in "That Yellow Bastard." I will admit, it was nice for a recurring supporting character like Nancy to take the lead in her own Sin City story, and Jessica Alba acted the hell out of this segment of the movie, but it really felt a bit contrived that her driving motivation is to avenge a former police detective who'd saved her life as a child. Also, her dance scene was to a song called "Skin City," which was performed by Robert Rodriguez with Steven Tyler on vocals, which as a fan of Aerosmith, that's pretty cool.

          To wrap this review up, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is visually fantastic, but a bit clunky in storytelling. I, personally, enjoyed the movie because I am a massive Sin City fan, but I can see why some will probably not enjoy it as much as the first movie. So, I'm giving the movie a rating of 4.05/5. Now, there were plans for a third Sin City, which was set to be an adaptation of the Frank Miller story "Hell and Back," and would have started Johnny Depp as Wallace, the protagonist of the "Hell and Back" story. But, unfortunately, the box office disappointment of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For meant that a third big screen outing for Sin City was no longer in the cards. However, Legendary Entertainment acquired the rights to produce a Sin City television series, with Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez very likely to be involved. And, I really want to see that, and maybe see some new stories with new characters all set in the harsh world of Sin City. 

         Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off. I'd like to thank everyone for staying tuned all month long, as we took a look at many of the films directed by the one and only Robert Rodriguez. With that in mind, Robert Rodriguez Month is complete, but there are more reviews right around the corner, including reviews of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Crow, and Hazbin Hotel. But, be sure to join me for my next review: Dune: Part Two.