KILL BILL: VOL. 2 (2004)
Tagline: The bride is back for the final cut
(Action, Revenge, The Five Point Palm-Exploding Heart Technique) [R]
That woman deserves her revenge, and we deserve to die…
KILL BILL overall is split into 10 chapters. VOL. 2 covers chapters 6 through 10. This one starts out with the lead-up to Bill and “Deadly Viper Assassination Squad” massacring Beatrix Kiddo, aka, Black Mamba’s wedding party. We find out some surprising details about the incident at the end of VOL. 1 and this film gives us even more things we didn’t know. Black Mamba still has 2 members of the “Deadly Viper Assassination Squad” in her way, but this time we find out if Black Mamba is finally going to…KILL BILL.
Acting wise we have Uma Thurman return as Black Mamba. She crushes the role once again and honestly, when it comes to emotion, this one was a lot more demanding of her than the first installment. Michael Madsen (Axe Cop) is solid as Sidewinder. Daryl Hannah (BLADE RUNNER) is featured quite a bit more in this VOL, than she was in VOL. 1. She plays a super sadistic character, so it’s hard to decide who I dislike more, Sidewinder, or California Mountain Snake (which is Hannah’s character). Both performances are outstanding. We also get an iconic almost James Hong as Lo Pan level performance from Chia-Hui Liu as Pai Mei. Whenever I grow my beard a little bit on the longer side, it reminds me of Pai Mei, but of course, he’s got the best beard and eyebrows in the business, so it’s not the same. Pai Mei’s tutelage is referred to as cruel, but he is way tamer than my high school football coach was. I guess that’s why I got out of football. David Carradine (DINOCROC VS. SUPERGATOR) gets a huge chunk of screen time in this as Bill. There isn’t really anything that Carradine does in this that is mind-blowing because he talks softly and kind of retains the same demeanor the entire movie.
When it comes to the pacing this thing is way slower than VOL. 1 and has a “Western feel” rather than martial arts like VOL 1. We do get some good fight scenes, but this is mostly a backstory movie showing us how Beatrix Kiddo became Black Mamba. It covers the relationship between Beatrix and Bill. Robert Rodriguez chose a more somber score for most of this movie, but the action sequences have a gloriously 70’s sound. It’s exactly what I would expect for a film like this.
In spite of the slower pace and having less action, the storytelling in this is superb and I think most people would consider this movie better than the 1st installment. Not me. I’m not most people. It’s very solid, but the characters are far less imaginative. Now if Sidewinder owned 15 attack bobcats that were only loyal to him, then Black Mamba and California Mountain Snake had to fight them off before fighting each other, then you punch some more creativity into Sidewinder’s character. Instead, he’s kind of just a dude. Anyway – this is not to say this film isn’t superb. It is. The fight scene between Black Mamba and California Mountain Snake is legendary. I guess in real life the actresses had a beef so the tension is palpable.
This one hits all the nostalgia triggers for me and the buildup sequences are well worth the wait. The movie also has an amazingly satisfying ending that still leaves an opening for a sequel. As of the writing of this review, there are rumors we might get a 3rd installment. There was a lot of drama behind this thing on the set, but in spite of all that we still got a brilliant movie.
I am giving this thing a 7 out of 7, but I thought the first movie was better. If you are a hard-core Tarantino fan (and I am not), then you can also check out KILL BILL: THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR which is a 4-hour and 7-minute combination of the two films with some changed and extended sequences. This thing is loaded with profanity and violence, so if that isn't your cup of tea, definitely skip this one and VOL. 1.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF MIRAMAX AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
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