Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (6/10): Lacks the emotional impact of the first film

"Sin City is where you go in with your eyes open, or you don't come out at all."

There has been a widespread claim that if you were a fan of the first film you will definitely love this sequel, but it wasn't the case for me. I called Sin City a masterpiece nine years ago when it first came out, but A Dame to Kill For doesn't even come close to that claim. One could argue and say that the novelty of these dark graphic novel adaptations has warn off considering that when Sin City first came out the visuals were groundbreaking unlike anything we had seen before. Perhaps it may have something to do with the fact that I haven't enjoyed the recent adaptations (the last one I really liked was 2009's Watchmen), but I know that my disappointment doesn't just come from this. A Dame to Kill For is as visually striking as the first film and it captures that pulpy film noir essence really well once again. What Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez don't do well however is build the suspense and connect the intertwining storylines like they did the first time. You have all these interesting characters returning and some new faces, but the stories didn't resonate with me this time around. Despite using the same formula and delivering in visuals and style, the three different storylines don't connect together. The film still has that same dark feel to it where it seems you are watching a comic book come to life, but the stories aren't as interesting and the narration isn't as gripping. So despite enjoying the visuals, this film was a huge disappointment for me and I don't think that the reason for it was that the novelty has worn off because it was the best aspect of this sequel.

Most would agree that the best character in Sin City is Marv (Mickey Rourke) and thankfully we get a lot of him once again. The story is at its best when it centers around him. Some of the new characters were also fun to watch. Joseph Gordon Levitt as Johnny was one of my favorites in this sequel. His character is suave and cocky, but always fun. His scenes facing off the main villain played by Powers Boothe are the highlight of the film along with Marv. We also get a lot more scenes from Nancy (Jessica Alba) and this time she has more depth to her character as well. Josh Brolin also gives a solid performance as Dwight, but unfortunately his segment is the weakest. So we get all these cool characters and everything seems to be perfect once again, but somehow the stories don't intertwine as effectively as they did the first time. The stories aren't as shocking and they lack that emotional punch that Sin City delivered the first time. The film is gratuitously violent once again, but it isn't effective. The impact was missing. There were also several characters that took me out of the film. I loved Bruce Willis in the first film, but there was no need to include him here. He took me out of the movie. The longest segment in this film involving Josh Brolin and Eva Green was also the least interesting. Green has fun with her character once again like she did in the 300 sequel, but this time her storyline is way too familiar. All she does here is be nude and seduce men. The subplot where she seduces Christopher Meloni was completely unnecessary, as were his scenes with Jeremy Piven. 

So despite some of the interesting things that A Dame To Kill For had going for it, it has several flaws which make the story drag at times. This is the sort of film in which you should be having fun, but I found myself bored with some of these segment. The narration might seem silly at times, but it worked the first time as a parody of noir films. This time it felt dull. I know my review sounds negative but it is because I expected a lot more from this sequel. I still had a fun time watching Marv once again, I also appreciated that Alba had more screen time, and loved the addition of Joseph Gordon-Levitt to the already incredible cast. Unfortunately there were some elements that didn't connect with me and the stories failed to fit together as they did the first time.

My Review: The Wolverine (7/10)

¨What they did to me, what I am, can't be undone.¨

It seems that adding the ¨The¨to the title nowadays makes every movie look a bit cooler and it actually works for this film because The Wolverine is much better than its predecessor, X-Men Origins - Wolverine. Logan was one of my favorite characters in the X-Men trilogy and it was a shame the origin story didn't work too well because he is such an interesting character and there are so many places you could go with it. Director James Mangold (who has a favorable track record with me: Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma) succeeds here by taking Logan to Japan, which many fans of the comics may agree is one of their personal favorite moments (Frank Miller and Chris Claremont's 1982 run). Having the events of this film take place after The Last Stand also allowed Mangold to have more space to work with and focus on Logan's inner demons as he deals with the loss of Jean Grey. Fans won't be disappointed because the character is carefully developed here and unlike its predecessor the action scenes work to build the story and not the other way around where you have the typical superhero movie that jumps from one action scene to the next without any apparent purpose. The action scenes are also beautifully choreographed here (I am specially thinking of that train sequence). Another thing that worked for me is that you don't have Logan trying to save the world; the entire plot takes place almost entirely in Japan. It is a small scale film unlike recent superhero films where everything takes place around the globe while entire cities are being blown to pieces. And finally the film has a great scene after the credits that connect things nicely to the next X-Men film coming out next year. The Wolverine is a solid film and one of the better superhero films of the year. 

The film takes place around two years after the events of The Last Stand. Logan (Hugh Jackman) is living on his own in the Yukon constantly having nightmares about Jean (Famke Janssen). He has been living as a nomad in the woods conflicted with the fact that he has lost so many dear loved ones. One day while having a small dispute with some hunters at a near town he encounters Yukio (Rila Fukushima) a Japanese red haired woman who has come to persuade him to come to Japan to say goodbye to her master, Yashida (Ken Yamamura), who is dying from cancer. Logan saved Yashida's life 70 years ago during WWII in Nagasaki and now he wants to say goodbye to him. Logan decides to travel to Japan to say his farewell, but once he is there Yashida presents him with a unique opportunity: he claims his company has the technological advances to make him mortal again. He knows eternity has been a curse for him, and offers him the opportunity of becoming mortal, but Logan refuses the offer. He then asks Logan to stay for a couple of days and protect his granddaughter, Mariko (Tao Okamoto), who he believes is in danger. That night Logan awakens to find that Yashida has passed away. During the funeral some yakuza try to attack Mariko, but Logan saves her. For the first time in his life Logan doesn't seem to recover from his injuries, but that doesn't prevent him from protecting Mariko from the people that are after her. The Wolverine now must learn how to face an unknown enemy while at the same time deal with his immortality. 

Hugh Jackman looked better than ever as Wolverine (this is the fifth time he repeats the role). He owns the character in probably the same way that Robert Downey Jr. owns Iron Man and is physically in better shape than in his previous films. The film also seems to have more depth and substance as the character is better developed here. It also has what a superhero film must have which are thrilling action scenes, but there is much more to this film. The story is dark and isn't as fast paced, but it is satisfying. My only complaint has to do with the final act which is a little too cartoonish and generic, but it doesn't hurt the overall effectiveness of the film. I really had a fun time with this film and it has me hooked with how they are going to tie things up with the next film of the franchise.