'Sin,' In Four Acts

Just Another Saturday Night
Marv (Mickey Rourke), a bandaged bruiser and hopeless romantic, may have met his bitter end in the first film, but that won’t stop him from returning in a prequel story. This time, he wakes up next to a bunch of dead bodies.

The Long, Bad Night
In the first of two original stories penned for the sequel by Frank Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Johnny, a gambler whose good luck quickly curdles. ”He beats the wrong guy at poker,” says codirector Robert Rodriguez. ”It’s the beginning of the long, bad night.”

A Dame To Kill For
The sequel’s title yarn includes some intentional recasting. In the first film, Dwight McCarthy (Clive Owen) had undergone plastic surgery. So this prequel features Josh Brolin — in Dwight’s pre-op face — as he meets an old flame (Eva Green) with a hidden agenda.

Nancy’s Last Dance
Alba returns for two timelines, playing the damaged stripper Nancy before and after the demise of her savior, John Hartigan (Bruce Willis). The latter makes up the film’s second original story. ”Nancy’s no longer a boy toy; she’s a woman avenging the killing of her lover,” codirector Miller says.