Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller, 2014)

Both a prequel and a sequel to Sin City, in that it consists of loosely interconnected stories with the same main characters set both before and after those of the first film,  Sin City: A Dame to Kill For strives for the seemingly impossible in trying to outdo both the violence and misogyny of its predecessor, which already set the bar high in both terms for a big studio flick. The stark monochrome comic book look is the same, and it is striking, but we've been here before and whereas the first time around it impressed by being so fresh, going a considerable way to alleviating if not excusing the pubescent boy's fixations with strippers and guns, we've seen it now and the film has nothing to offer except many more scenes of Jessica Alba gyrating on stage or even more people getting decapitated or shot in the eye. Nor is there any semblance of plots beyond revenge ones this time. As a pure spectacle, it still dazzles the eye. As cinema, it's worthless.

3/10