Starring Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Chia Hui Liu, Michael Parks
Written By: Quentin Tarantino
Directed By: Quentin Tarantino
Studio: Miramax
Buy on Amazon.com

I managed to catch Kill Bill Vol. 2 in theaters after finally seeing the first volume when it got released on DVD. I might be in the minority here, but I think Kill Bill Vol. 2 is a far superior film than the first volume. But people might give me shit for saying it’s two movies. Ok, then I liked the second half better. Happy?

Kill Bill Vol. 2 starts off with Bill shooting a bullet into The Bride’s head..again. Then it shows The Bride (Uma Thurman) driving in her car talking to the camera (pretty much the teaser trailer) and basically says she’s on the way to kill Bill (David Carradine). You then get to see everything leading up to the massacre in Texas and get to see Bill’s face for the first time. That whole scene is great, and looks fantastic because it’s in high contrast, black and white, grainy film. Kind of wished the whole movie was filmed that way. Then the film changes pace and goes back to present day, with the Bride making her way to get Budd (Michael Madsen). Then Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah). and finally Bill.

In my opinion, Kill Bill Vol. 2 is a better movie than Volume 1 in a lot of ways. Volume 1 is a homage to Kung Fu flicks, and this one is a homage to spaghetti westerns. that’s probably why I liked Volume 2 more. This movie has MORE story, characters are more developed, looks better film wise, the music is excellent (lots of Spaghetti western scores by legendary composer Ennio Morricone), great Quentin-esque dialogue, and the acting is superb. David Carradine is absolutely fantastic as Bill. His performance is Oscar worthy in my opinion. Every scene he’s in just makes the movie much more better. I also like Michael Madsen as an actor and thought his scenes were good. He’s probably the one out of the bunch that hasn’t really succeeded as a professional killer because he’s a lonely loser living out in the desert who happens to be a bouncer at a titty bar. And he gets shit for coming in late, and wearing a cowboy hat into work. That kind of miserable character interests me. Daryl Hannah plays an evil bitch. But does it well. I love the scene where she whips out a notepad with info on a black mamba snake and reads it. Uma Thurman is still awesome as The Bride or her other name, which I won’t spoil here.

Uma Thurman has great chemistry with David Carradine. You can tell from their acting, that the characters had this huge past and love for each other. But their hearts got broken when The Bride took off, and when Bill put a bullet in her head but some of that love is still there. That’s why it takes forever for those two to fight at the end because they sort of don’t want to go through it but they have to. I loved all the flashbacks scenes, and the scenes actually have a point to them. Like the whole Pai Mei scene was important to see, but it’s also the best scene in the entire two films! I loved the way that was shot with the EXTREME close-up shots and the cheesy 70’s style music playing. It’s just a lot of fun to watch. Don’t worry though, there’s still a lot of action in this film, just not as much as the first movie. The Bride vs Elle Driver scene was very cool, and one part where it might equal the grossness of the ear cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs. But this scene is probably more cartoony than the ear cutting scene. I’m sure a lot of people dislike volume 2 more than the second volume, but I liked the second film. Though I guess it depends on who you talk to, on whether or not which volume is better or if they just count them as one film.

Just like the first DVD, there’s only a fluff on extras on here. Though they are satisfying for the regular DVD user. There’s a half hour behind the scenes/making of featuring Quentin “Ok, All right” Tarantino, and actors on the movie. Quentin talked about his movie saying it’s more of a spaghetti western, but still has that kung fu style in it. He talked about the Pai Mei scene and that character is actually a character that has been used in many martial art films. Chia Hui Liu who played Pai Mei (who was also in the first film as Johnny Mo) played a character when he was younger, and he fought someone else who was playing Pai Mei. Michael Parks was also in the first movie as a sheriff, and he pops up again as Esteban Vihaio, the Mexican pimp. I didn’t even know that those two actors were in the first movie as different characters until Quentin mentioned that in the feature. Director/composer/editor/whatever Robert Rodriguez also provides some score to the movie, and offered to do the score for free because Quentin never used a film score. At least that’s what I think Robert said. You also get to see Robert and his band Chingon performing some songs from the movie at the KIll Bill volume 2 premiere. They were pretty good! Also, there’s a really good deleted scene with some black dude who fights Bill in some street alley while the Bride looks on. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN INSERTED BACK INTO THE MOVIE! I’m pretty sure it will make it’s way onto the special edtions though. It’s just an awesome/funny scene that shows Bill is a badass at kung fu. It’s a shame it’s not in the movie.

Kill Bill Volume 2 is a more interesting, and better movie than volume 1. It isn’t just some bloodbath movie with not a lot of context to it. Everything is just better like: the dialogue, acting, the look, the music, and the storytelling. If you can’t wait for the evitable Special Editions of this movie, go out and get this.

Features:
Deleted Scene Behind-The-Scenes
Look At The Making Of Kill Bill Vol. 2 Featuring Quentin Tarantino
Kill Bill Vol.2 Premiere – Chingon Performance

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC
ENGLISH: DTS Surround CC
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1

Video:
Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: The cruel tutelage Pai Mei, Lonely Grave of Paula Schultz, Bitch you don’t have a future, Pregnancy Test, You and I have unfinished business
Rating: Rated R
Running Time: 137 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: