As was the case with the original movie, A Dame to Kill For is not going to appeal to everyone. It is filmed to have the look of a comic book and has a lot of over-the-top violence. I call it a follow-up to the original movie because it is not a straight sequel. Similar to the original film it is made up of several shorter stories involving different characters. Some of those stories occurred before the events of the original movie and some occurred after. One of the earlier stories involved Micky Rourke's Marv, and you definitely have to suspend your disbelief because even under the makeup, Rourke looks a lot older than he did in the first movie (and he did not exactly look young then). The story that involved Nancy, Jessica Alba's character, is a sequel to the events of the original film. The titular Dame is Ava, played by Eva Green, who is involved in one of the prequel stories. She gives a wonderful performance and again shows off her acting range.
For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie looks and sounds great in the HD format. The movie uses a mix of practical effects and CGI and a mix of black and white and color, and everything pops in HD. There are just a handful of extras, which include a 15-minute high-speed edition of the movie, which basically shows the movie against the green screen background (and with the nudity removed), a 14-minute character profile featurette, a couple of short features on the makeups/effects and the stunts and then the trailers. So, not a lot, but what was included is good.
Overall, the movie is very good. Chances are, if you are not a fan of the original movie, nothing about this one is likely going to appeal to you. It does have a lot of violence, that as I said above, is very over-the-top and almost cartoonish. There is also some nudity (mostly from the stunningly gorgeous Green), and a lot of skimpy outfits on most of the other women including Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson who reprise their roles from the first movie. The movie is well-written and acted. There are a couple of cast replacements with Dennis Haysbert replacing the late Michael Clarke Duncan and Jamie Chung replacing Devon Aoki. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Powers Boothe do a great job in their roles, as does Green and Alba (whose role is expanded from the first movie). So, if you are a fan of the first movie, this is definitely worth picking up.
For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie looks and sounds great in the HD format. The movie uses a mix of practical effects and CGI and a mix of black and white and color, and everything pops in HD. There are just a handful of extras, which include a 15-minute high-speed edition of the movie, which basically shows the movie against the green screen background (and with the nudity removed), a 14-minute character profile featurette, a couple of short features on the makeups/effects and the stunts and then the trailers. So, not a lot, but what was included is good.
Overall, the movie is very good. Chances are, if you are not a fan of the original movie, nothing about this one is likely going to appeal to you. It does have a lot of violence, that as I said above, is very over-the-top and almost cartoonish. There is also some nudity (mostly from the stunningly gorgeous Green), and a lot of skimpy outfits on most of the other women including Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson who reprise their roles from the first movie. The movie is well-written and acted. There are a couple of cast replacements with Dennis Haysbert replacing the late Michael Clarke Duncan and Jamie Chung replacing Devon Aoki. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Powers Boothe do a great job in their roles, as does Green and Alba (whose role is expanded from the first movie). So, if you are a fan of the first movie, this is definitely worth picking up.
