So with such high praise for volume 1 my hopes were very high for volume 2. And it more than delivers. Where volume 1 focused more on the action and was fast paced. This one is at a slower pace and is more dialogue driven. Which is what Tarantino does best anyway. At approximately two and a half hours it is also a lot longer than the first one. Don't worry though Kill Bill volume 2 is not without it's share with great fight scenes and memorable new characters. The most memorable is Pei Mei the martial arts master who trained the bride and the other members of the Dead Viper Assassination Squad. Played wonderfully by Gordon Liu (who also played Johnny Mo in volume 1) Pei Mei even over shadows the mighty Hattori Hanzo played by Sonny Chiba in volume 1.

Other memorable performances come from Michael Madsen as Budd a.k.a Sidewinder and David Carradine as Bill. Madsen gives another Mr. Blonde caliber performance as the former assassin turned trailer park alcoholic. Claustrophobics take caution the confrontation between Budd and the Bride is really intense and very claustrophobic. Darryl Hannah is deliciously evil as Elle Driver. She's about as evil as can be. What should be noted is the fight between Elle and the Bride. What is unquestionably one of the most knock down, drag out, intense fights ever put to film. Tarantino pulls no punches here. Huge credit should once again be given to the sound department on this one. You can almost feel ever blow. It is the best fight in the whole of Kill Bill.

Never seen and only heard in volume 1 we finally get to see the performance we've been waiting for. David Carradine is of course great in the title role. He plays the role with such a laid back ease. Both intimidating and cool. You don't know whether to sympathize with the guy or hate him.

Those who said Uma Thurman deserved an Oscar nomination last year will probably say the same thing this year and then some. Where Thurman was praised for the intense action in volume 1, in this one she really goes all out. No longer a nameless assassin out for revenge she is now with a name (to be revealed in the film) and is now seen more as a person then a nameless killer. Not that the nameless killer thing was a bad thing. It was a great action role. This time the emotions come out. Thurman really lets herself go in the emotional scenes. Well worthy of a nomination.

So is Kill Bill volume 2 a worthy conclusion? Absolutely. Is it as action packed as volume 1? No. But that's not a bad thing because we get more of the great Tarantino dialogue. Was there anything I found wrong with the film? Well, there was one little thing. The credits go on forever. So if your like me and you like to sit through the credits you've been warned. Kill Bill volume 2 will not be without it's enemies. Those who didn't like volume 1 will probably not enjoy this one. If you're a fan of volume 1 then you should be more then satisfied.

Matt Putnam
April 02, 2004


May I Have A Glass Of Water Please?   November 3, 2004
 27 out of 34 found this review helpful

One of the first things that struck me about Kill Bill 2 is how Tarantino seems to have aimed it at a subtly different audience. The first was both a paean and a parody of the Hong Kong style fight film and the anime style that is part and part of the same package. This film is something else - in some ways it is almost a commentary on the forces behind the making of part one, and an opportunity for Tarantino, speaking through Bill (David Carradine), to express some of his aesthetics directly to a willing audience.

This makes it a somewhat headier film as it traces The Bride's (Uma Thurman) progress towards their inevitable confrontation. The first part of the film, told in the context of a live burial covers confrontations with both Bill's brother Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle (Darryl Hannah). The best acting here is a surprise performance by Chia Hui Liu, who plays Pai Mei, a perfect parody of a Chinese master of the martial arts. In many ways, these sequences are some of the best in the film, and they crystallize what is happening to The Bride (also known as Beatrix Kiddo) in the present.

That part done, the action turns to the hunt for Bill and Bea's discovery of her child (mentioned at the end of Kill Bill 1). This is the point where Tarantino shifts gears, spending as more time on emotional and intellectual questions than he does on actual violence. This makes an interesting contrast, and those who were expecting an explosive conclusion may find that this time they are a bit nonplussed. There is a moment of blurring action, but this adheres more to the Samurai model where the actual stroke occurs in a moment, almost as a side effect of the dramatic content.

What makes this all exceptional is that Tarantino to what was an absolutely predictable plot and manages to make each movement full of surprise and seeming free will. Tarantino shows himself a master of camera styles and choreography to the same effect, focusing this time on more intimate spaces. The physical acting is also notable (especially the fight scene between Elle and The Bride). The two films in this series make an interesting study of the palette of one of our more unorthodox directors.


The End to Tarantino's Spaghetti Kung-Fu Western   September 24, 2004
 24 out of 27 found this review helpful

In a telling moment of "Kill Bill Volume 2" Bill's brother, Budd, played in a wonderful understated performance by Michael Madsen, is listening to a recounting of events we saw in Volume 1 - specifically when Uma Thuman's Bride single-handedly destroy Lucy Liu's O-Ren Shii and her bodyguard platoon, the "Crazy 88".

Budd asks "You're telling me she cut through eighty-eight bodyguards before she got to O-Ren?"
Brother Bill replies "Nah, there weren't really eighty-eight of them. They just called themselves "The Crazy 88."
Budd asks "How come?"
Bill answers "I don't know. I guess they thought it sounded cool."

There is a LOT in Quentin Tarantino movies that happens because it looks or sounds cool. I'm reminded in "Pulp Fiction" of the dialogue-less scene in the Pawn shop where Bruce Willis is upstairs selecting a weapon to use on the psychotic murdering rapists downstairs. He considers a few lethal clubs and even a chain-saw before settling on the Samurai sword and in the audience I was thinking "YEAH! Get the samurai sword! That'll get 'em!" Plus - it's cool.

There is a scene where one of the characters sicks a deadly Black Mamba on another character, then whips out a notebook with pages of hand-written notes about how god-awful deadly the Black Mamba is. The character sits down, flips open the notebook, and delivers an almost pharmacologic description of the lethal venom, along with "'In the bush,' the saying goes, 'a lion can kill you, a leopard can kill you, and the black mamba can kill you. However, only with the mamba is death certain.' Hence its handle, 'Death Incarnate.'" Pretty cool, huh?"

Tarantino's movies are cool, and the characters in them know it. The smallest touches are added, sometimes for no apparent reason other than to add a "cool" factor. All of the members of Bill's Assassination team are called the "Deadly Viper Assassination Squad" and they all have "Snake" Code-names. Why? 'Cuz it's cool, of course.

In the beginning, at the wedding rehearsal of the bride, we get to see Samuel Jackson portraying the piano player for the wedding, and is there anyone cooler than Mr. Jackson in the movies? He asserts his coolness by telling how he sat in with practically every R&B group that came through his little town over 2 decades.

The Bride is standing at the alter of her wedding rehearsal when she hears a flute playing a familiar refrain. She follows the notes outside where she finds her old boss and lover, Bill, playing the familiar notes on his old flute. Bill is played by David Carradine, and if movies gave out "comeback of the year" awards like sports does, Mr. Carradine would have earned it in this role, courtesy of Mr. Tarantino. For extra "coolness", the flute that Bill is playing for the Bride is the same one that Carradine played back 30 years ago in his iconic role as Caine in the wildly popular tv series "Kung Fu".

The "Wedding Chapel Massacre" that we're told about in a roundabout way in Volume 1 is set up perfectly in Volume 2, then executed with a single swooping crane shot that backs from the wedding party at the altar, all the way back through the church, down the steps, straight back through the gravel parking lot where the other members of the Assassination Squad are approaching with cool strides and lethal weapons. The crane swoops the camera up overhead and we see the flashes in the church and hear the shots and screams - and we KNOW what is happening in there without being shown in gory detail. I can think of no single camera shot as virtuoso since Orson Welles' virtuoso opening to "Touch of Evil".

I haven't told you ANYTHING about the plot, but if you watched Volume 1 you KNOW where the plot is going. There's a surprise or two, but there's delight in every scene. I've read Roger Ebert say that movies aren't as important in "what they're about" as in "how they're about it".

Kill Bill is about Kung-Fu movies and westerns, and the way it's about it is..... cool.



Kill Bill Volume 2   April 14, 2004
 20 out of 24 found this review helpful

Kill Bill Volume 2 is easily one of the most original stories Ive ever seen. Everywhere I thought this movie was going to go....it didnt. Granted there are violent scenes, revenge filled rampaging fights and plenty of edge of your seat action. What I didnt expect was so much comedy. The actors never played anything for a laugh and I believe thats why it translated so well. The black and white cinematography ranks up there with some of the best ever, plus the camera movement was unreal. They used plenty of really neat pan shots. They always had the camera moving at very pleasing angles that went hand in hand with the telling of the story and at times the unfolding of the story as when the camera balances out other people or objects come into frame.
The fight between Elle Driver and The Bride is one of the most memorable fight scenes ever, if not the best. Just really orignial concepts provided by the Yuen Wo Ping Fight Team who deserve some sort of award for their helping revive a rebirth in the genre let alone spawning movies such as the Matrix etc. Also deserving praise is Uma Thruman who easily gave her best performance to date. Wow is all that can be said. She was funny, vulnerable and [great action packed] all at the same time, and extremely [good looking]. I really see this as a femlae empowerment film no matter what critics say. What other film has made such [an action] woman character besides Foxy Brown, Coffy or La Femme Nikita. Her emotional range as an actress seems to be exceptional now, possibly because of being a mother (some say as a parent you have many new experiences to draw on as an actress). Well no matter why, Uma deserves a nod this time around. I cant see a woman putting in a better performance this year and Im not really into the whole commercial film thing. She really was amazing going from crying to laughing to crying and smiling to just plaind balling her eyes out.
Look for Gorgon Liu once again this time playing Pai Mei the abbott. He really cracked everyone up in the theatre with his comical take on the abbott character from the famous golden age Shaw Brothers martial arts flicks. He looked like he was cut right out of the Master of the Fatal Flying Guillotine.
Also this film boasts the most amazing soundtrack since, well Pulp Fiction. Its way better then Part One. It kept perfect stride with the film bringing us up and down. A really fun cd im sure. Finally Ill priase who deserves all the credit in the world, QT. Thank you for giving us pure escapist fun at the perfect time. Its obvious he loves this genre way more then even the hardcore addicts I know do and that is so welcome in today's film industry where producers call the shots. You can tell this series is his baby. For all the heat he took for the "4th film by QT"(wink wink) this is really an achievement. The writing is much closer to the famous quirky QT dialogue weve all come to know and love. During the screener someone said to hurry up during a dialogue scene which got a great response of "ugh!" and "Are you kidding me!" from people you wouldnt expect it from. Id say that means its a success as he settled back down and then started laughing (...). Congrats to Tarantino for creating a film I wish Id have made. Even more respect goes to the fact that before the credits rolled not only did David Carradines name get a standing ovation but so did O-Ren Ishii and Uma, and if that wasnt enough he gave the credit of creating the bride to Q&U. Now thats a great filmmaker, a great friend, and a great movie. Thanks. 5 stars!!


TARANTINO AT FULL THROTTLE, A PEERLESS FEAST OF FILM!   May 9, 2004
 20 out of 27 found this review helpful

While I found Kill Bill Part One to be a bit callow (although well-done), Kill Bill 2 is an absolutely magnificent piece of cinema that simply blew me away!

A wholesome fusion of stunning visuals, carefully selected soundtrack, and the energy of super-crisp dialogue -- in a sharp, clever, suspenseful lovestory. Yes, this one is not just a cross-national blood fest but a saga of love gone awry, in a very Tarantino sort of a way.

Only Tarantino knows how to draw on a variety of cinematic tropes for a film's look and feel and perhaps the co-opted muscle of certain borrowed sources -- his film wouldn't be one without at least some of his encyclopedic video-geekiness finding its way onto the screen. Yet, it feels VERY inspired and original.

What's most admirable is how we come to feel for each and every character in his films. Even in this tale of otherwise spiteful revenge, the question of who was "wrong" is not cut and dry. Was it The Bride who deserved her revenge? This version presents a face on Bill that'll make you think twice about simple inferences from the last movie.

I couldn't recommend watching this opus enough. On the big screen if possible, although I'll be queueing up for the DVD when it's released. Marvellous!