Kill Bill: Vol. 2

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 matter of some debate which volume of Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" is better. Let's end the argument right now: David Carradine doesn't even appear in "Volume 1." Hasn't the Academy mailed him his Best Supporting Actor Oscar already?

In the first volume of "Kill Bill," released only a few months before "Vol. 2" in the tail end of 2003, we met Uma Thurman, one peeded-off super-assassin taking out some folks from her past one at a time, with the occasional mega-posse thrown in for interest. "Vol. 1" had a lot of blood, violence, and wisecracks, and galloped across the screen like a rap video on steroids.

"Vol. 2" is way different. It makes sense it's a separate movie; the tone is such a departure from "Vol. 1" in two ways. One is style. Director Tarantino has fun stylistically quoting Sergio Leone and chop-fu cheapos from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Cinematic sampling is something he's good at and enjoys, but in "Vol. 2" he doesn't go as overboard as he does in "Vol. 1." He pulls back and lets the plot breathe, rather than filling every spare second with a homage-cum-parody that maybe a dozen lucky fans will get. Maybe some here wish he'd pile it on a bit more, but they have to make do with the goofy Pei Mai sequence, which is a flashback and hence not jarring in its "Vol. 1"-style comic-book treatment. Throughout "Vol. 2" the emphasis is on storytelling and character-building, which is where it should be given we are now being asked to deepen our commitment of interest to these people. "Vol. 1" is okay for what it is, but its flash and action are no match for the depth and nuance of "Vol. 2."

This gets to the second different tonal difference between the films, which is emotional. It all comes back to the characters. They don't quite become real people here, but they get close enough to get under your skin. Admittedly, the opening part of "Vol. 2" tests the viewer's patience a bit, there's some long bits that show the director hasn't really mastered self-discipline, like with Thurman's graveyard struggle, but the meandering usually has a purpose. Tarantino is building toward something here that has its payoff when Thurman's character finally has her face-to-face showdown with Carradine's Bill.

From that moment forward to the end, this is the best Tarantino has ever been.

Carradine and Thurman dominate the proceedings with two of the finest performances I've seen, certainly the best Tarantino has directed, playing off the mythology we've been taught in "Vol. 1" and developing resonances with the viewer both together and apart which will surprise those expecting a casual butt-kicking affair. We finally find out what Carradine means in the first line of "Vol. 1" where he tells a whimpering victim he is being masochistic, not sadistic, and its a powerful revelation, that this sinister baddie may have a heart buried under that cold exterior. Carradine is perfect in his phrasing, his pauses, the tired glint in his eye, or the way he says "Kiddo." You can't ask for a better veteran performance. For her part, Thurman presents a brilliantly conflicted character who can not stop either hating or loving Bill, and brings us not into a world of cartoon anguish, but real human pain.

"Kill Bill Vol. 2" is slow-moving, and needs "Vol. 1" in a way few sequels do, since it assumes you know nearly all the characters coming in. That's a weakness. So are some undeniably pointless bits, including the entire sequence with Bill's father figure, Esteban Vihaio, and some business at a bar involving Michael Madsen, who plays a former assassin now gone to seed.

Madsen's good, though, and so's Daryl Hannah as another rather mouthy assassin, Gordon Liu as Pei Mei, and especially Perla Haney-Jardine as a girl named B.B. The nice thing with Tarantino is for every scene that strikes a bum note, there's four or five that hit the right mark, and some manage to do much more. My favorite scene involves a Mexican standoff in an L.A. hotel room between Thurman's character and an anonymous hitwoman, at once grippingly suspenseful, hilarious, and life-affirming. Still, it's the final moments of this film that will stay with you, as Bill and his former pupil work out their "unfinished business" and we are left to ponder the results of their decisions and actions.

"Kill Bill Vol. 2" may not reach the heights of cinema to which it aspires, the level of "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly" quoted in its score, but it's a fine film that will make most viewers glad they stuck around for the second installment. I am.

Vol. 1 is blood and fun, Vol. 2 is a memorable piece of art.

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