Kill Bill Volume 1 left us with a lot of unanswered questions but Kill Bill Volume2 delivers all the answers. Quentin Tarantino continues his homage to his favourite cinema styles with this final instalment of his stylish revenge thriller.
THE STORY
It’s difficult to outline the plot of this movie without inevitably giving something away about the first instalment of the series. The Bride a former member of the Deadly Viper assassination squad is well on her way to achieve the revenge she craves on Bill her former boss and lover and the remaining members of the squad who were involved in the massacre of her husband to be and friends at a wedding rehearsal in a remote southern town. Through a series of flashback we finally get the explanation to the violent events that took place in the first film, we learn a lot more about the different members of the assassination squad particularly Budd and the sadistic Elle Driver. We also finally get to meet Bill! Inevitably there are plenty of tense moments and lots of combat all leading to a final confrontation with Bill himself.
CAST, PERFORMANCES AND OPINION
Uma Thurman .... The Bride/Beatrix Kiddo (Black Mamba) David Carradine .... Bill AKA Snake Charmer Lucy Liu .... O-Ren Ishii (Cottonmouth) Vivica A. Fox .... Vernita Green (Copperhead) Chia Hui Liu .... Pai Mei (as Gordon Liu) Michael Madsen .... Budd (Sidewinder) Daryl Hannah .... Elle Driver (California Mountain Snake) Michael Parks .... Esteban Vihaio Bo Svenson .... Reverend Harmony Jeannie Epper .... Mrs. Harmony Stephanie L. Moore .... Joleen Shana Stein .... Erica Caitlin Keats .... Janeen Christopher Allen Nelson .... Tommy Plympton Samuel L. Jackson .... Rufus
If Kill Bill 1 was a feast of full throttle martial arts action Kill Bill 2 is a
darker more complex film. There are still plenty of highly choreographed fight scenes but there is also more emphasis on mood and overall a slower pace is adopted. This is more a tribute to the classic Spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone than the honk Kong samurai movies although the two styles have also been linked in the past. Many of the sequences with full screen shot quickly interspersed with close up of peoples faces or even just eyes are very reminiscent of Leone’s work, the use of interesting camera angles and a slower more deliberate pacing of the action building up to an explosive conclusion is also pure Spaghetti western. This is best illustrated in the flashback sequence filmed in Black and white showing the events leading up to the wedding massacre.
On the surface this is much more in line with Tarantino’s previous work, there is greater verbal interplay between the main characters with some great lines being delivered mostly by the exquisitely evil Elle Driver who rather surprisingly is played to perfection by Daryl Hannah. However there are still some great martial arts moments the best of which is another flashback to The Bride’s training under the priest master Pai Mei a character that has often been seen in Chinese Martial Arts cinema.
Uma Thurman is again impressive as the vengeful Bride and she suffers more shocking set backs in this film as she get closer to a final showdown with Bill. Michael Madsen puts in a strong performance as Budd the only male assassin of the original squad who has now fallen on bad times but is still as deadly as ever. Madsen and Tarantino invest a lot into the character and Budd is probably the most sympathetic figure in the entire film.
Although Thurman is still obviously the star of the show once again it is nice to see the veteran Actor David Carradine given her a run for her money. Carradine who has not been that prominent in films recently having appeared in many B list project is back with a vengeance as the ultra cool Bill. Carradine a skilled martial arts practitioner in real life and best remembered for the seminal TV series Kung Fu in the mid seventies effortlessly manages to steal many of the scenes he is in and also shows us that he still has what it takes in the fighting scenes.
Also look out for two great cameos by Samuel L Jackson and the much underrated Michael Parkes.
One of the most impressive aspects of Kill Bill 1 were the fantastical fight sequences, this film the combat is grittier and less stylised. The action comes across as being more realistic and the violence in turn is slightly more shocking again in line with the Spaghetti westerns.
Again in this film the music is very important this time the turbo charges slick beat of RZA (Wu Tang Clan) give some way to the Hispanic rhythms of long time Tarantino friend Robert Rodriguez of El Mariachi, Desperado and From Duck Till Dawn fame as director. The Rodriguez compositions are again reminiscent of the Western soundtracks of Ennio Morricone and again as in the first film it is no surprise to find some original Morricone music has also been used. Other music includes tracks from such diverse artist as Rod Argent, Quincy Jones and Malcolm McLaren amongst others. Again Tarantino used the music to good effect and the mood and action is enhanced by carefully chosen tunes.
At 2 hours and 10 minutes it is about average for a feature these days but the time flew by for me.
THE DVD
As with Kill Bill volume 1 the transfer to the DVD is excellent, vibrant sharp colours are displayed and for the extended Black and White sequences the sharpness and contrast of the image is noticeable. Once again as with all the Tarantino films the soundtrack is very important and thus it is pleasing to find that the Dolby 5.1 sound track appears crystal clear for both music and dialogue. A selection of languages and subtitle choices are provided and the chapter selection is well divided and the menu generally is easy to use.
The DVD package is not packet with extra features but again as in Kill Bill.1 there is enough included (maybe a little more) to make a purchase worthwhile.
The bonus features include
· 'The Making Of Kill Bill - Volume 2' short documentary This is again an interesting insight into Tarantino’s idea about making the film. I would certainly watch the short documentary after having watched the film and then going back and for a second more informed viewing. There are interviews with the major stars Thurman, Hannah, Madsen and Carradine as well as Tarantino. They all shed a little light on the different movie style and genres that influenced Tarantino while making the movie we also get a few snippets of interesting trivia such as the flute that Bill plays in the film is the very same one that David Carradine had in the series ‘Kung Fu’. Although not essential to the enjoyment of the film the information on the making of the movie and the background on the characters do add a little more depth to the story.
· Chingon performance from the Volume 2 premiere
Chingon are a Latino guitar band headed by Robert Rodriguez director/composer and good friend of Tarantino who played live at the premiere. Rodriguez composed a lot of the atmospheric soundtrack for the film and I was surprised at how good it was managing to capture the Western overtones of the movie. In this section Rodriguez’s band serve up two tracks of pure Latino guitar rhythms and it sound pretty good!
· Deleted scene
Most of the time on the DVD package the deleted scene no more than a curiosity rather than a worthwhile feature but in this case the scene featuring a fight sequence with David Carradine is worth seeing and I was rather surprised is got left out.
OVERALL
Kill Bill 2 is a totally different film from volume1, the pacing is slower, the characterisation deeper and although still influenced by martial arts movies it owes a greater debt to Tarantino’s earlier film styles and Leone’s spaghetti westerns. Again I enjoyed the clash of genres and once again Tarantino makes a film that is oozing with style and chic. The gratuitous violence is still there and this time it’s presented in a rather grittier fashion rather than the comic book effects of volume. An 18 certificate is still needed.
Do the films stand alone? Well… volume 1 better than volume 2 really but in the end it is best to see them together in the right sequence. As an experiment in innovative film making Tarantino has in my opinion succeeded with both films and he has also made films than are exciting and enjoyable to watch. Taste will vary and some will find the Kill Bill project a little perplexing but if you liked volume 1 but weren’t quite happy with the lack of plot then volume 2 should set things straight.
‘Kill Bill Volume 2’ is available from Play.com for £13.99 delivered.
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2003 - Action/Adventure - Director: Jan De Bont - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring:Angelina Jolie, Ciaran Hinds, Chris Barrie, Gerard Butler, Noah Taylor, Djimon Hounsou, Til Schweiger
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
I really enjoyed this film but you have to watch the first one otherwise you get totally confused in whats going on. Great review.
emre.nufc 21.10.2005 19:35
excellent review!!!
Credance100 15.11.2004 15:13
Excellent review, I've never been able to like either of the Kill Bill's, from the droll dialect-based humor of one to the lack of the traditional Tarantino-ish lines. Great review though.
"The Bride" (Uma Thurman) gets her satisfaction--and so do we--in Quentin Tarantino's ... more
"roaring rampage of revenge",Kill Bill, Vol. 2. Where Vol. 1 was a hyper-kinetic tribute to the Asian chop-socky grindhouse flicks that have been thoroughly cross-ref...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
"The Bride" (Uma Thurman) gets her satisfaction--and so do we--in Quentin Tarantino's ... more
"roaring rampage of revenge",Kill Bill, Vol. 2. Where Vol. 1 was a hyper-kinetic tribute to the Asian chop-socky grindhouse flicks that have been thoroughly cross-ref...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The second part of Quentin Tarantino's deliriously stylish movie as The Bride (Thurman) ... more
continues her typically blood-soaked revenge quest... Having killed two of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad The Bride continues her mission to avenge the thre...
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Advantages: If you like glib humor and dialogue, its for you Disadvantages: If you like glib humor and dialogue, its for you. Takes suspension of belief a bit too far...
DonMackaroni 29.09.2004 (29.09.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Kill Bill Vol.2 (DVD)
Advantages: A Quentin Tarantino film with a great plot, and amusing blood Disadvantages: Some people find it boring, but I don't understand it myself...
![Kill Bill, Volume 2 [DVD] [2004]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78508584.jpg "Kill Bill, Volume 2 [DVD] [2004]")
Sep 24th, 2004
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