'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' Trailer: Booze, Broads, and Bullets

It’s been almost nine years to the day since “Sin City” made its debut in theaters (April 1, 2005, if you can believe that) — and now director Robert Rodriguez and comic series creator Frank Miller are finally back in the ‘burg for another round of greenscreen murder, mayhem, and lovemaking.

“Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" incorporates four "Sin City" yarns into its multilayered, overlapping narrative, the main one being, of course, the second story published in the series: "A Dame to Kill For" (1993), Miller’s poisoned valentine to the ultimate femme fatale, Ava Lord (Eva Green, in her second of two Miller sequels released this year, following this weekend’s “300: Rise of an Empire”). Ava makes life a living hell for Dwight, here played by “Planet Terror” star Josh Brolin before plastic surgery turns him into Clive Owen (for the later “The Big Fat Kill” storyline dramatized in the first movie).

Other stories include “Just Another Saturday Night” (1997), a tale that shows us what Marv (Mickey Rourke) was up to on the night that Hartigan (Bruce Willis) met up with Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba) to play out the events in “That Yellow Bastard” (the best of the yarns in the original “Sin City” movie). True, Marv bought it in the first movie, but the ever-bobbing and -weaving narrative of the “Sin City” mythos allows for all sorts of inadvertent resurrections depending on when a particular story might be taking place.

[Related: 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' Reveals a Rainy, Smoky First Poster]

Finally, Miller gives us two original stories written specifically for the film: “The Long Bad Night,” which follows cocky gambler Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he looks to take down the despicable Senator Roark (Powers Boothe, back from the first movie) at his own game; and “The Fat Loss,” which picks up with Nancy as she tries to cope with life without her fallen guardian angel, Hartigan.

The first trailer for “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” is basically a rapid-fire series of lines and images from the individual yarns, presented as a rat-a-tat montage that showcases the still-gorgeous (if a little more fake-looking thanks to “improvements” in HD since 2005) greenscreen process utilized by Rodriguez to turn these movies into visually ultra-faithful adaptations of Miller’s stylized comics.

Here are some (awesome) highlights from the brand new “Sin City” trailer:

0:08 - The first image of the trailer has Marv, arguably the heart and soul (such as it is) of “Sin City,” flying through the air surrounded by shards of glass, muttering the title of his story, “Just Another Saturday Night.”

0:14 - Nancy’s in full-on femme fatale mode herself, sporting a black wig and matching bustier with a liquor bottle in one hand and a gun in another. Ladies and gentlemen, the Perfect Woman, according to Rodriguez & Miller.

0:16 - Senator Roark muses, “Power is a fragile thing.” Villains say this sorta stuff all the time.

0:19 - “It’s tearing me up how much I love you … and what I gotta do.” Ray Liotta makes his “Sin City” debut as Joey Canelli, a married businessman cheating on his wife with Sally (Juno Temple), a girl from Old Town.

0:31 - Nancy smashes her head against the mirror. Look fast and you’ll see a reflection of Hartigan (Bruce Willis) in the mirror to her right — our guess is he returns as some sort of ghostly mentor figure that alternately inspires her and drives her crazy.

0:32 - A traveling shot down the ‘game table’ of Senator Roark, followed by the beat-up mug of poor Johnny, in way over his head.

0:35 - Ava Lord emerges nude from the pool, one of the most iconic images from the “A Dame to Kill For” comic. How can any damn fool resist?

0:38 - Dwight falling from his upper story apartment after Ava’s goon Manute (played in this film by Dennis Haysbert, replacing the late, great Michael Clarke Duncan) throws him out the window in “A Dame to Kill For.” ‘cept Dwight’s naked in the comic.

0:40 - “You keep askin’ for it … and ASKIN’ for it!” We could be wrong but this looks like Christopher Meloni as Mort, a corrupt detective and yet another poor bastard who falls victim to Ava Lord’s web of sex and lies.

0:44 - Jessica Alba should have more kids if it makes her look that good.

0:47 - VERY quick shot of Manute opening his golden eyes as he wakes up on a hospital bed.

0:48 - VERY quick shot of what looks like Juno Temple as Sally, watching as some guy beats up another guy in “Sin City”-style silhouette.

0:51 - Jamie Chung replaces Devon Aoki as Deadly Little Miho, about to make short work of a bunch of idiots with guns.

0:54 - Marv tosses some dude. This looks like it’s from the part where he helps Dwight storm the estate of Ava’s husband, Damien Lord (Martin Csokas).

0:57 - “Right there’s a dame to kill for.” You are correct, Marv.

Ultimately, this first trailer will do fine in whetting your “Sin”-ful appetite. Stay tuned for the second trailer, which will probably be a bit more coherent.

“Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” opens Aug. 22.