Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (2014) - This blockbuster brings back the magic of the brilliant original - 9/10 (28/08/14)

The first "Sin City" was a revolutionary movie in my opinion in terms of its comic book style, violent film noir atmosphere and intriguing storytelling involving switches between several plot lines that were loosely bound together. While many mediocre American movies quickly got many unnecessary sequels, one of the very best Hollywood films of the past ten years had to wait more than nine years for its second strike to be released. This is also the reason for the rather disappointing sales figures as many younger fans of the original have grown older and forgotten about the first part, younger audiences might not have heard about the excellent original yet and worn-out superhero movies in the key of "Guardians Of The Galaxy" as well as the wave of exchangeable dystopian teenage flicks like "Divergent" are what younger audiences prefer to watch these days.

Let me tell you that these people are missing out on a highly atmospheric, breathtaking and stylistic follow-up that brings back the magic of the original and only fails to beat it because this movie is slightly shorter and the four stories told in here are a little bit less original than the four ones told nine and a half years earlier. This being said, it would be a wise choice to watch the first movie again before you get to see its sequel because the new film refers to several events that have happened before in Sin City. 

The style and spirit of the movie has been copied many times after its original release in rather similar flicks like "V for Vendetta" (2006), "Max Payne" (2008) and "The Spirit" (2008) which just proves how influencing the original was. That's why the sequel feels a little bit like one has seen similar stuff before but let's not forget that this franchise is the one that started this whole unique extravagant comic book style. If you like the aforementioned movies, you will also adore this movie that is hold in classic black and white with a few colourful parts here and there that make stand out certain body parts or objects. I'm still fascinated by this classic and yet revolutionary way to design a movie. The sinister and often sarcastic stories, the excellent soundtrack and the bleak characters that all have their dark sides add much to the gripping atmosphere of the movie. Especially the actors are doing an outstanding job in this movie. Mickey Rourke convinces as brutal yet charming outlaw, Josh Brolin excels as broken man with a raw appearance but a soft core who definitely makes me forget that his character was performed by Clive Owen in the first film, Powers Boothe delivers as antisocial, corrupt and pitiless politician and Eva Green perfectly portrays the sexy yet evil miss misery. Even the secondary characters like the suicidal Jessica Alba, the silent beauty and elegant killing machine Jamie Chung or the short role of Bruce Willis as a desperate ghost or guardian angel can entirely convince. The cameos of Lady Gaga and other famous people are also a nice addition to this film. The clash of all these characters leads to many brutal yet artistic fight scenes where the blood is flowing, explicit but honestly passionate dialogues take place and several scenes including explicit yet elegant nudity are shown. This is a highly entertaining mixture including lots of black humour and sarcasm, tons of over-the-top action sequences, some moments filled with extreme emotions and a solid base of tension and a high dose of sex appeal. Weak or conservative minds as well as young children should therefor definitely avoid this movie.

In the end, if you liked the original "Sin City", you will also like its high above average but not classic sequel "Sin City: A Dame To Kill For". If you haven't watched these movie, you have definitely missed out on two of the most atmospheric, original and vivid Hollywood movies of the past ten years. Go and correct your mistakes of the past now. Along with the experimental crazy ride filled with star actors that was Luc Besson's "Lucy", this is by far the best movie of the not-so-young year 2014 for me. This is the only current movie franchise I definitely want to carry on, no matter if the majority misjudges this excellent movie and prefers to watch its trendy fast-food cinema. This kind of art isn't for everyone and this is what makes this so unique.