Kill Bill: Vol. 2

When I first heard that this film was going to be split into two movies instead of being presented as one as originally planned, I was angry. I accused the powers that be of trying to squeeze two box office triumphs out of a single project. But after having seen both 'Kill Bill' and 'Kill Bill Vol.2', I am glad because both films are extremely different even though the stories are tied together with primarily the same actors and having the same director. Containing less action than 'Kill Bill', volume 2 is intelligent, bizarre and extremely engrossing. It absorbs all of its elements equally and David Carradine's performance as Bill is the best thing to happen in movie villain history since, well, I'll leave that up to individual interpretation.

This movie is completely different from the first. Unlike the first with fast paced action and extreme entertainingly super-stylish gore, Kill Bill vol. 2 is everything that was missing in th first.

The Bride's revenge is burning strong and we can see it in her eyes. We discover the truth behind the wedding massacre and all questions from the 1st movie are answered. We discover why the Bride is the deadliest woman in the world. We discover why Elle is missing an eye. We discover who Bill really is. We discover the Brides name. And finally we discover the truth of the secret revealed at the end of Vol. 1.

Her first target is Budd. The loser bum ex-deadly assassin living in a trailer in the middle of nowhere. The short confrontation ends with one of the most terrifyingly claustrophobia-inducing (sp?) scenes ever...specially if you watch it in the dark. Then we are taken to the journey of how the Bride became the deadliest person in the world. We see the story between her and her hard-hitting very mean master Pai-Mei.

After a while there is the confrontation with Elle Driver...the Battle of the Blonde Gargantuants...as Uma Thurman referred to it in an interview. This one fight scene is almost as exciting as watching the Bride battling off tons of the Crazy 88s from Vol. 1.

Then the battle we were all waiting for. For Uma Thurman to Kill Bill...well I won't spoil it for you. Basically vol. 1 was 95% style 5% substance while vol. 2 is 95% substance 5% style. Very emotional and touching movie with a few key gore scenes...definitely a must see...

The sentimental showdown

Kill Bill Vol. 2 deserves to be another film than Kill Bill Vol. 1, not only the fact that the film would then run 4 hours + if it had been shown in one piece, but more because showing both films in one run might come across somewhat odd. The reason I'm saying this, is because Kill Bill Vol. 2 is very different in tone and feeling than was Vol. 1. The first part was more anger driven and brutal, whereas Kill Bill Vol. 2 is more about love and disappointment. Where the first part is bloody and ruthless, the second one is tender and sore. This does not mean that there is no brutality in this film, but rather that the tone of the film is totally different.

I must admit that it took me some getting used to in the first 20 or so minutes of the film, because I'd expected the film to go on as brutally and furious as the first one finished. It didn't happen. What I got instead was a more story and character driven film, that was filled with emotion, explanations and some good and original fighting scenes.

I have no negative comments on this film I guess. I think the acting was good to very good, with the extra kudos going to Daryl Hannah, who'd let some people to believe that she as just a tall blond who couldn't act in the last couple of years. With this film she manages to show us though, that she just has not been given the right offers. This I must say seems to be some kind of quality of Tarantino, to get ‘discarded' actors and actresses and give them an opportunity to shine once again. Speaking of Tarantino, although I do realize that with Kill Bill he was an 'hommage' to many of his influences, I just have to say that he is a great director and screenwriter. I mean, the way he directs, the music he chooses to accompany the scenes and the dialog. It's just all top notch. This does not mean that this is the best film I've ever seen, but that it is a good film, which fulfilled it's promises. I mean let us ALL be honest. Who can pull off filming a revenge movie lasting more than 4 hours without it getting dull and boring? NOBODY but Tarantino. Hell, most people can't make complete a good 90 minute flick with this amount of story.

7,5 out of 10

In my brief, initial review of 'Kill Bill Vol. 1.' I made the regrettable mistake of dismissing it as exceedingly pleasing yet unsubstantial stylistic masturbation, lacking the profundity and characterizations of Tarantino's previous works. Rarely have I been happier to be proven wrong.

What once seemed like somewhat incoherent cinematic recklessness has, after viewing the second part of Mr. Tarantino's saga, revealed itself to be wild, imaginative and brilliant filmmaking. As a whole, 'Kill Bill' is utterly unified (not despite but because of the radical shift in tone), possesses a strong, dramatic ark, and, above all, stands as quite possibly the most passionate, loving tribute to cinema I have ever seen. While part one pays homage to Brian De Palma, Dario Argento and the Shaw Brothers, part two cites, among many others, Jean-Luc Godard, Sergio Leone, and Robert Siodmark.

But that's far from all.

In his critical essay 'The Cinema of the Cool', Kevin Murphy suggests that Tarantino must move on and grow up to fully realize his potential as a filmmaker. In my opinion, with this piece, he has done so. Those merely seeking the blood-splattered, broken-bone action of Vol. 1 will be severely disappointed by Vol. 2, which is infinitely more thoughtful, pondering the nature of violence, both in cause and effect. While the action in the first installment was great, comic book fun, here it becomes severely unpleasant, cringe inducing, and never without consequence. If anything, it reminded me of the great Akira Kurosawa's work. Remarkable.

It's a hefty price to pay, preparing for your wedding day, as your jilted lover Bill, arrives in time to maim and kill, left unconscious, comatose, muscles wasting, decompose, four years later you awaken, and you feel a little shaken, so you start to wiggle toes, then start looking for your foes, there are several scores to settle, you know how to use sharp metal.

The Bride continues to track down her past acquaintances and leaves them under no illusion how cold her revenge can be when it comes to finding the whereabouts of the titular Bill. In the style of several classic film genres from several countries, if the pursuit of ultra-violent and vicious vendetta with serious loss of blood and body parts is your thing, then you've come to the right place. Also contains great dialogue.