KILL BILL
VOL. 2

 

"That woman deserves her revenge"

Budd

Dispatching Vernita Green AKA Copperhead and O-Ren Ishii AKA Cottonmouth in a roaring rampage of revenge; The Bride (Thurman) has two more names on her Death List to contend with, Budd AKA Sidewinder (Madsen) and Elle Driver AKA California Mountain Snake (Hannah). Once these two are dead she can go on and pursue her ultimate goal, to kill Bill (Carradine).

The Bride's tale of revenge concludes as Quentin Tarantino brings us the second volume of his homage to everything he loves about cinema and boy is it good.

After the frenetic pace of the first film, Tarantino slows it down and re-introduces his trademark superb dialogue. Gone is the blood bath to be replaced by character driven moments and back-story. We find out what happened at the wedding and are introduced to the remaining members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, including its illustrious leader Bill.

If volume one was Tarantino's nod to Japanese martial arts cinema then this instalment pays homage to the spaghetti western and the Hong Kong kung-fu movie. Budd and Elle's chapters are all western, rapped in extended, gritty dialogue with betrayal, greed and a face-off thrown in for good measure. Then we have The Bride's training with Master Pai Mei, which is old school, 1970s Hong Kong kung-fu movie. Tarantino captures this brilliantly with extremely quick zooms into the face for a reaction shot and the outrageously funny dialogue between the master and apprentice. Then we come to the final showdown, which is vintage Tarantino. This is all about dialogue and the meeting of two great warriors. Throw in some revelation, followed by joy, followed by anger and you concoct an ending that is both riveting and completely satisfying.

The fantastic script is brought to life by the astounding cast. After proving that she can handle the action, Uma Thurman reminds us that it was her acting prowess that brought her to Tarantino's attention in the first place. Dealing out revenge in this volume asks even more of the actress but this time it is more emotional than sheer skill and force. This is a career-defining role for Thurman and should push her back into the superstar league.

Quentin Tarantino has a habit of resurrecting careers and he does it again for David Carradine. This is a man who was a superstar in the 70s after starring in the hit TV show "Kung-Fu" but his career has been in permanent stall ever since then but as Bill he electrifies the screen every time he graces it. This role should rejuvenate his box office potential and remind filmmakers of his talent.

Michael Madsen and Daryl Hannah are superb as Budd and Elle. Madsen plays Budd as the broken man but just like a wounded animal he is at his most dangerous when he is fighting for his life. Hannah is another actress to benefit from the Tarantino career resurrection magic with a captivatingly evil performance. Elle Driver is one vicious bitch that could so easily become a screen icon in the echelons of screen villainy.

It is Gordon Liu as Master Pai Mei who steals the show however. An amalgamation of every Kung-fu master to ever hit the sliver screen with a sprinkling of Yoda, his performance brings some much-needed comic relief to the film. The training sequence is brilliant but is made all the more enjoyable by Liu's presence. He makes you want to grow a really long beard.

Volume 2 is just as good, if not better than the first and proves again that Quentin Tarantino is a cinematic genius. In these two movies he has created a masterpiece of modern cinema that pays homage to the films that drew him into the business in the first place. Kill is Love.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a choice between Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts surround soundtracks, this is a superb transfer. Tarantino's homage to the spaghetti western brings out the sharp yellows of the desert to produce an excellent visual transfer. The sound is also first rate, especially during the face off between The Bride and Elle, as their ruckus envelopes you in sound.

BONUS FEATURES

The Making of Kill Bill Vol. 2 (26.03 mins)
Writer/Director Quentin Tarantino, producer Lawrence Bender, composer Robert Rodriguez and stars Uma Thurman, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madison and David Carradine talk about bringing Kill Bill Vol. 2 to the big screen. Tarantino explains the difference between the first and second volumes, revealing that the first introduces the mythos of the characters and the second completes what was set up in the first. He also explains why there is more dialogue in the second film. The actors and director talk about their characters and Robert Rodriguez talks about how he got to write the score for the second volume.

Chingon performance from the Kill Bill Vol. 2 premiere (11.04 mins)
Robert Rodriguez and his band play two tracks from the soundtrack live at the Kill Bill Vol. 2 premiere including Malaguena Salerosa, which plays over the end credits.

Damoe deleted scenes (3.36 mins)
Your chance to see the deleted fight between Damoe and Bill on a street in China.

OVERALL

As with Volume 1, the film presentation is first rate but the extras are very lacking. No commentary track, not the best making of… featurette and a deleted scene, which is very good but without a commentary you don't know why Tarantino cut or where it should have gone in the movie. The performance of Chingon is very good however, it showcases how much talent Robert Rodriguez has. Buy this DVD only if you really need to see the movie, it is a decent rent but fans and purest should wait for the inevitable special edition with the complete version of the movie.

DVD

Jackie Brown

Kill Bill Vol.1

Pulp Fiction

Reservoir Dogs

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2004