I went to see Sin City 2 : A Dame to Kill For, last night. I must admit, it didn’t blow me away as I expected it to. One thing which bothered me all the way through were the graphics. I went to see it in 3D which really advantages the movie. That being said, the 3D on the edges in the background were fuzzy; at time4s, I even wondered whether I was seeing them without the glasses. Now, I am four-eyed, so perhaps that issue rests with me. After all, lack of focus is something which commonly bothers me in 3D movies. But it also means that I am less likely to enjoy the movies as much as it is intended.
Another thing that bothered me was the timeline. Now the story is supposed to take place four years (afair) after the previous one. Which is all nice and well, don’t get me wrong. I just find it very confusing to deal with the characters of Marv (who is executed in the first movie), Goldie and her sister, who are now alive and well,  Dwight who I just cannot place with regards to the first movie, especially vis-a-vis his relationship with Miho and Gail. I guess it makes sense to people who first of all, have read the comics. Fair enough. Perhaps, it makes more sense to people who are used to a multiverse, to non-linear timelines or to stories somewhat imbricating.
The story spends considerable time on Dwight and Ava, but most of the time spent with Ava is spent with her stark naked, which does build the temptress character in her, but cheapens it too. Surely, a woman has other ways than her body to have power on a man? As powerful as she is intended to seem, she ends up being very one-dimensional; even after she claims she won’t have to play the whore to get what she wants, she keeps doing just that. This makes Dwight a lot sappier than he had been in Clive Owen’s skin.
Similarly, Marv has become a mere instrument of violence, manipulated by Nancy when she decides how she’s going to take Roark down. Roark, whose character has been very simplified from the first movie. He’s lost his son Junior, so that’s it, he’s just the bastard, the enemy that has to die. Period. Fair enough. After all, Nancy has a reason to do it.  Her character is perhaps the one who has evolved most since the prequel. Or maybe, she just speaks to me more (I still claim that the first kiss between Nancy and Hartigan is perhaps the most beautiful I have seen in movies). I find it a bit odd that after Roark decides to take an interest with her, he doesn’t do anything.
Other than that, the movie is good. I thought we’d see more of Johnny, I love Christopher Llyod’s character. Sadly, it suffers from the second-movie effect.