By Charles Webb

Returning for her role as Sin City exotic dancer Nancy Callahan, actress Jessica Alba won't let the guys be the only ones playing the badasses in the Robert Rodriguez/Frank Miller-directed "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For." This time, Nancy gets in on the action.

Speaking with MTV at a recent L.A. junket, Alba explained some of the changes that her character went through between the films, and how the women of Sin City get to be as dangerous as its men this time out.

"In the first 'Sin City,' the men are the leads and the characters that you follow," Alba explained. "And in this one, you get to have a woman who's part of it, which is pretty cool."

Alba said that with Nancy joining Gail (Rosario Dawson) and Miho (Jamie Chung) on the action, "A Dame to Kill For" is, "an awesome mix of these really sexy, brooding, cool, awesome dudes and these hot, kick-ass chicks."

When asked if she thought the women of "Sin City" were allowed a little more dimension than the men - usually hardened killers, bent on revenge - Alba defended some of the "good guys" among the gun-toting toughs.

"Josh Brolin [Dwight] isn't a crazed killer," Alba countered. "No! He believes in the greater good. And you know, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's [Johnny] character just wants to connect with who he really is. He's got a heart of gold."

Nancy was the heart and soul of 2004's "Sin City," the only character who wasn't doomed or out to kill anyone. But after the suicide of disgraced hero cop John Hartigan (Bruce Willis), Nancy's hard drinking and bitterness have the dancer setting her sights on the man who ruined her life: Senator Roark (Powers Booth). And that meant a little gunplay (and later, crossbow action) for Alba's character in "A Dame to Kill For."

"I got a lot more action, I got to kick so much ass," Jessica boasted about her "A Dame to Kill For" role, which sees her finally pulling the trigger (literally and possibly figuratively) on a revenge plot against Roark. But he's the most powerful man in town and the odds are stacked against her. Will Nancy make it out alive?

You'll have to find out when "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" hits theaters Friday, August 22.