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Better than 1; outstanding! - Review written on August 19, 2008
Rating: 5 out of 5
If you like gross, overly violent, graphic films, then you'll like Kill Bill Vol. 1 more, but this one was way better. I watched the first, and barely could sit through it because it was so gross and sick. However, I found volume 2 much better, with a better story line, and action packed. It completed the story, and thus had more of a story line. If you consider watching people get dismembered and children bleeding out their predators as action and entertainment, you may like 1 better.
I almost didn't watch 2 because of how much I found 1 distasteful, but I was told 2 was less violent, so I watched and I'm glad I did, as this is one of my favorite movies!
I know they are one movie, but if you watch them, you wouldn't think so.
Kill Bill Vol. 2: The Bride's Redemption - Review written on August 15, 2008
Rating: 4 out of 5
WARNING: This review contains spoilers!
Note: Before reading this review for Kill Bill Vol. 2, please read my review for Kill Bill Vol. 1 to avoid confusion.
Quentin Tarantino (Jackie Brown and Kill Bill Vol. 1) delivers the second half of his epic revenge melodrama, Kill Bill, with his usual stylistic flare. As with Vol. 1, he gives tribute to the many genres* that have inspired him since his childhood. Unlike Kill Bill Vol. 1, Vol. 2 focuses more on human drama rather than gory action but it still packs a punch. The story is more typical of Tarantino's writing, relying heavily on witty banter between immoral characters who suffer the delusion that they are following some strict code of honor. Another difference between Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 is the tone of the film. Vol. 1 is very much an amalgamation of samurai, blaxploitation, and revenge melodrama. Vol. 2 is more of a spaghetti western/kung fu/dysfunctional family drama.
Kill Bill Vol. 2 continues The Bride's quest for revenge against her former boss/lover, Bill, who four years earlier massacred her husband-to-be and her friends during her wedding rehearsal. But Bill has a secret: the daughter that The Bride was pregnant with, whom she believed to have been killed, is alive and happily living with her father, Bill. And for the first we are shown how The Bride became the killer that she is. We see her cruel tutelage under kung fu master Pai Mei, who takes her past the breaking point and keeps pushing her to excel. We see the day that she realized she was pregnant and decided to leave killing behind her. And we see the day that the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS) killed her friends before putting her in a coma. With all of these events in mind, The Bride continues down the blood-soaked path to vengeance. #3 on her "Death List" is Bill's younger brother, Budd, who has no intention of becoming just another splatter mark leading to Bill. When The Bride shows up, Budd is waiting with a shotgun and a shovel. He shoots her in the chest and then buries her alive in the desert. Budd plans on selling The Bride's Hattori Hanzo sword to Elle Driver, #4 on The Bride's "Death List" and one of the top members of the Deadly Vipers, but Elle is lethally cunning and she despises Budd for killing The Bride before she had the chance to do it herself. Little does she know that The Bride has escaped from her premature burial site and is on her way to kill Budd (who is already dead thanks to Elle). When The Bride arrives, she and Elle duke it out in an intimately savage fight which ends in an unexpectedly abrupt manner. Without stopping for respite or recovery, The Bride Travels to Acuna Mexico where she looks up an old retired pimp, Esteban Vihaio, who served as a father figure to Bill. It is from Esteban that she finally learns the location of Bill himself. The Bride hits the road once again and it's not long before she reaches her destination where Bill is waiting with their daughter, B.B.. Bill and The Bride hide their vendetta from their daughter but after she's safely tucked into bed they confront one another. After a long discussion about the nature of heroes and dual identities, about leading a double life of mediocrity and intrigue, they fight briefly. In the end Bill is, of course, dead but so is The Bride. She lives on in a new incarnation, not as The Bride, a killer, but as Mommy. Mommy and B.B. drive off into the sunset and live happily ever after.
There have been some critics who have been disappointed with the film's climactic showdown between The Bride and Bill. Most of them complained that either Bill's death was too simple and dignified or that the final duel should have been more of a spectacle like the final battle in the first film. However, upon close examination the ending is entirely appropriate, both emotionally and pragmatically. All this time The Bride has been a stoic and impersonal killer and only when she was with Bill or when she was pregnant was she intimate and human. This duality was necessary in her violent line of work, but when she kills Bill she is released from this shifting imbalance and made whole. Only when he is dead can she become human again and act as a mother to her daughter. It is this removal of evil from the world that gives her the strength to survive and redeem herself. She's no longer The Bride, she's simply Mommy; a woman freed from the cruelties of men, a mother who does not attack but to defend her offspring. It's odd but the film which started off as a tribute to genre films and exploitation is in the end an ironic allegory for feminism and non-violence.
The cast (as always is the case in Tarantino's films) is wonderful especially Uma Thurman as The Bride/Mommy, Michael Madsen as Budd, Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver, David Carradine as Bill, and Gordon Liu as Pai Mei.
Special features include The Making of Kill Bill Vol. 2, a performance by Robert Rodriguez' band Chingon, and a deleted scene.
* Here are some of the films which inspired Q.T. to make Kill Bill:
A Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
The Wild Bunch - The Original Director's Cut
Duck, You Sucker
Kung Fu - The Complete Series Collection
Five Fingers Of Death
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
taking cr*p so seriously - Review written on April 03, 2008
Rating: 4 out of 5
2 customers found this review not to be helpful.
And I just feel like laughing at it. KILL BILL. Short simple amusing little title for such a long drawn out oddly serious film. So long in fact that it had to be chopped in two, as we all know. Looking at separate pieces I see nothing to gripe about whatsoever. Most every scene seems perfect. Taken as a whole, I find an overly self-serious, bloated, pretentious film. IMHO, KILL BILL would have benefitted greatly as one film under 2 hours and done more as a comedy rather than a revenge drama.
I guess I wanted a revenge comedy. Or a revenge dramadey. And maybe a little bit more focus on just telling this story instead of on what the project was really about, which was a grand tribute to various genres the director grew on. I like trash, and I like art, but I like my trash best when there is no confusing it with anything other than what it is. I don't have as much love for the cr*p as Tarantino. But who really does? That guy is a mutant, a real life "Cable Guy" that spent his entire youth in a movie theater. So maybe that's why I lack a little bit of appreciation for this homage to cr*p. Don't mean to offend the faithful here. Tarantino is still the man, although I wish he'd quit talking so damn much and work more --I mean, have you ever seen someone as brilliant at self promotion? KILL BILL was six long years after what was that film? And what's he up to now? (I'll look online in a minute.) I still think it's great though, but not as fun (for lack of a better term) as I personally would have preferred. Your maybe thinking, what the hell are you talking about? I mean, I wanted to laugh my a-- off with this one. I wanted BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA sillyness. But that's just my 2 cents.
Some highlights from Volume 2:
Pai Mei is my favorite character. Michael Madsen gave an Oscar worthy performance as Bud, Bill's brother. Great performances all around. Great soundtrack as always. Visually just a gorgeous picture.
From Volume 1:
The anime and watching hundreds of Japanese chodes having their limbs removed.
ROUND TWO - Review written on March 15, 2008
Rating: 4 out of 5
1 customer found this review helpful.
I loved the movie KILL BILL VOLUME 1. I thought it was not only a great tribute to the films that director Quentin Tarantino loved seeing in those grind houses long ago, but a fantastic action film in its own right. And now the final chapter in the story (so far), the second film reaches screens around the world. And...it is different.
Suffice to say that if you walk into this film expecting the first, you will be terribly disappointed. The gore fest bloodshed has toned down, the massive amounts of swordplay, gone. Instead we find a more philosophical Tarantino film, a movie more about wordplay than swordplay. And while taken aback by it at first, I found that the more I thought about it the better it was.
Having finished off the first two targets on her list, The Bride (as Uma Thurman's character is known so far) sets out to finish the job she started. The film opens with her making this statement and then flashing back in this chapter to what brought it all about, the massacre that we witnessed in the first film and why it came to be.
We discover that she was the love of Bill's (David Carradine) life and that he was torn apart by her leaving him. So much so that he made the decision that if he couldn't have her no one could. He refused to let her leave the ranks of the assassination squad he had formed. At least we think this for now.
With each chapter we are given more information as we discover who it was that trained the Bride. It was Bill's former master, Wei Ping (Gordon Liu). He takes on the task of training the Bride, something that comes in handy later on when she finds herself buried alive by Bud (Michael Madsen) after she attacks him.
Bud, who we discover is Bill's brother, is down on his luck, working as a bouncer in a low class strip joint in El Paso. Having spoken with Bill already, he is waiting for Uma. Thinking he has done her in, he contacts Elle (Daryl Hannah) to sell of her sword. But Elle has different plans for Bud. And Uma has plans for her.
A face off between Elle (Daryl Hannah) and the bride occurs in Bud's trailer. The swords fly and the movements are swift while confined to the small space of the trailer. But a winner emerges. By death? We are left to figure that out on our own.
And finally, Uma heads out for a contact that will put her in touch with Bill. The final confrontation, begun with the release of the first film, unfolds. Not only that, but the surprise that Bill has in store for Uma as well. And as the surprises are revealed, conversation between these two combatants unfold the entire story that we have only been given portions of to date.
Tarantino took much flack with the first film in that the dialogue that he is noted for was kept to a minimum while the action took the forefront. Critics blasted him for this. He has stated that the film wasn't complete with that one and keeping that in mind while watching makes the film a better experience for the viewer. When he finished, he realized that he could not release the entire picture without it being a 4 hour opus. Instead, he cut it in two and released the stories separately making them unite as a whole. Keep this in mind while watching and it makes a difference.
The acting in this film is wonderful, especially from David Carradine. Though never quite a fan of his, he does a great job here as Bill, offering his philosophies on life and love and the results of the same. Michael Madsen is underused but does a great job with what little time he has onscreen. And Hannah makes one of the meanest villains on screen in some time.
But the role of the Bride (whose name is revealed finally....but don't expect me to give it here) as played by Thurman is what makes this film. It is not only the emotions that she must convey, but the physical aspects of it and delivery of dialogue in a way that makes it all believable. And Thurman does each one of these with an ease never seen before.
KILL BILL VOLUME 2 is a good movie and an entertaining experience. See part one on DVD before watching this though and take it in as a whole film. Those who do will find more rewards than those who see it as two different films.
Not as good as Vol. 1 - Review written on January 13, 2008
Rating: 3 out of 5
To be honest, I found Kill Bill Vol. 2 a bit of a disappointment. The film has its highlights, such as the fight scene between Uma Thurman's 'The Bride' (aka Black Mamba) and Daryl Hannah's Elle Driver (aka California Mountain Snake), the horrific scene where The Bride is buried alive and the scene where The Bride finally meets Bill face to face for the first time since she was shot by him 4 years previously - which contains a shocking twist. But the film just does not reach the heights of excitement and visual spectacle of Volume 1. Even worse the actual final fight between The Bride and Bill - what everything was leading to - I found a letdown, an anticlimax even, bordering on childish Manga cartoon-style farce. I mean, "5 point palm exploding heart technique"? Come on Tarantino, you can do better than that! So an anticlimax of an ending combined with the film not matching Volume 1 means that I only give this film 3 stars, which is a shame, as I had high hopes for Volume 2.
"That woman deserves her revenge... and we deserve to die." - Review written on June 01, 2007
Rating: 5 out of 5
7 customers found this review helpful.
All grown men have a little boy in their heart that still surfaces every now and again...some fellows more so than others, and it's always so much fun to go back. That is one of the many reasons I enjoy having a son waiting to greet me when I come home from a day of work or a long business trip. On the flip side, Quentin Tarantino gets to go back to being a boy every time he goes to work, and I say good for him.
The Kill Bill movies are a potent effusion of likely all the things Quentin grew up with. Westerns, Kung-Fu movies, Samurai movies and other action films that helped mold and create his robust imagination. Now, he can take the ideas that inspired him as a child and make them even better for the next generation of action-craving bloodthirsty little children. Kill Bill volume 2 is more than a derivitive tribute film, it is an elicitation of massive nostalgia, excentuated keenly by incredible dialogue. Other than function well as a conclusion to the series, it is actually quite different from Kill Bill volume 1 in a few ways. Kill Bill volume 1 contained mostly introductions, followed by bloody action as Beatrix Kiddo took on and took out Vernita Green, O-Ren Ishii, Go-Go Yubari and of course the Crazy 88 (yes, all 88 of them). But in Kill Bill volume 2, I felt like those were merely the supporting villains as Kiddo takes on the more resourceful and profound antagonists in this film; Elle Driver, Budd and of course Bill himself. The sequel, unintentionally perhaps as the two were written and filmed together, possesses more depth than the first part. There is more room for dialogue and that is of course a great thing because outrageous and unlikely dialogue is one of Quentin's strengths, and it serves here to make the characters even more unearthly and super-hero-like then in the first film.
Overall, in volume 2 we get to see how Beatrix learned her skills and we learn more about the relationship between her and Bill. It all leads up to an often criticized climax between Bill and Beatrix. Between the dialogue and David Carradine's performance, the climax helped me enjoy this film a bit more than volume 1. So, if you prefer action and violence you will like the first movie better, but if you just so happen to get caught up in the characters along the way and have an appreciation for the kind of concentrated cultural yearning crossed with mythical level characters that only a Tarantino film can deliver, then Kill Bill volume 2 is a great cap to the two films. For me, simply put, together they make one amazing movie.
Vol 2 is better - Review written on May 27, 2007
Rating: 5 out of 5
You've seen vol 1 and thought do I really want to sit through another 2 hours of swords and kung-fu? Well vol 2 is the much better film, so the answer is yes.
Curiously enough although Vol 2 is longer, it seems to have a tighter construction. Some of the chapters are breath-taking, perhaps because they are shorter. The Pai-Mei chapter is simply marvellous. Uma Thurman gets her training with Pai Mei and Bill tells her "remember no sarcasm, no back-talk at least not for the first year or so, gonna have to let him warm up to you"! The Pai Mei chapter ties a lot of things together as well.
Oh yes in vol 2 we get to see Bill for the first time. David Carradine is great, very cool, and occasionally seems to become Kwai Chang Caine again all these years later.
I'd recommend seeing Vol 1 first, although it isn't quite as essential to do this, as it is to watch vol 2 after watching vol 1.
This is fabulous entertainment made by a master film-maker and I strongly recommend it.
kill bill vol. 2 - Review written on April 19, 2007
Rating: 5 out of 5
2 customers found this review helpful.
i tend to bounce back-and-forth in my mind as to which half of the "kill bill" story i like better. as of writing this review, i'm going to have to go with "vol. 2", perhaps just because it's the one i've seen more recently, but i'm thinking there's more to it than that, so i'll try to get to those points instead.
first off, this really is like splitting hairs, picking which volume is better. now, believe all of those who point out how incredibly different the movies are because they are absolute night and day, but equally good and, more importantly, equally enjoyable.
i guess the one and only edge that i'd have to give "volume 2" is that the character's you get to spend time watching in this half (alongside the Bride, who is just as awesome here as in "vol. 1") are just more in-tune with what i like to see. for example:
-i LOVE the character of Bill, and found the scenes between he and the Bride to be among my favorite ever "ex-lover" face-off's in all cinema. they're is certainly a nastiness to the scenes, but you can SEE the two of them still deeply caring for another, despite themselves, esp. upon the conclussion of their showdown. it is just excellent.
-Michael Madsen's Bud is quite possibly the most difficult character to not like in any movie ever. despite his actions toward the Bride (no more detail. don't want to ruin anything in case you haven't seen it.), you just can't help but kinda feel for the guy. i mean, a dude that has to take junk off his boss, clean up nasty toilet water at a [...]-hole strip bar, then go home to his El Paso trailer to sit alone and listen to Johnny Cash records just kinda screams "feel bad for me" even if we really don't wanna. Bud is awesome, and i like having more of him, so yet another nod to "vol. 2".
-Pei Mei is freakin' awesome, esp. if you love the old kung-fu movies that the "kill bill" series was so lovingly created to replicate. awesome!
-Elle Driver is my absolute favorite member of the divas, so her being more prominant in this half alone makes me love it, love it, love it! just EXACTLY what a "bad guy" bad girl should be, man. all this, and the revelations made during the throwdown between she and the Bride just makes that fight (and the conclussion of said fight) SO much cooler it's just insane!
there is one more character in this movie that i thought was a really neat addition, but to talk about this is to REALLY ruin the movie, so just in case, i'll let you guys decide who you think belongs in this fifth spot.
overall, "kill bill" start-to-finish is outstanding in everyway, but i wanted to yack about "volume 2" today, so that's that. thanks for reading and enjoy!
A Letdown - Review written on April 02, 2007
Rating: 3 out of 5
2 customers found this review helpful, 2 did not.
I liked the first volume, despite the fact that it was mostly plotless, because it was very pretty in all its carnage. Volume 2, however, spends a lot of time on a plot that bothered me more and more when I thought about it. In the end, I found it overly simplistic and irritating (trying not to give anything away here). I kept waiting for a twist that never came. While the first volume was mostly fluff, a lot of style with no substance, it was enjoyable as that at least. The second volume has more plot, but this does not end up as more substance. But in the second volume, the time that is spent on the plot takes away from the style and we end up with two and a half hours which are not very enjoyable.
Better than the first and very enjoyable. - Review written on March 31, 2007
Rating: 4 out of 5
1 customer found this review not to be helpful.
How do you follow a bloody, though often slow at times, sword-fighting extravaganza? Any attempt to either recreate the magic of the first movie or go off in an entirely different direction would be very risky. It is even more risky to place the fate of your movie in the hands of David Carradine. To say that, for the most part, swords will stay sheathed and instead acting will rule the day in Volume 2 was an interesting move and had you told me ahead of time that it would be so, I would not have believed you. After the fact, I can say that David Carradine is a star.
After much deliberation, I feel that I liked Volume 2 better than Volume 1. There were no characters that I enjoyed in Volume 1, while I loved the introduction of both Pai Mei (the martial arts master) and Esteban Vihaio (Bill's Spanish-speaking father figure). The highlight, however, was Bill.
He is a charismatic man to whom it would seem everyone takes a liking. His scratchy voice, which borders on a whisper, somehow soothes and calms. No one should wonder how he, with his charm; inteligence; and martial arts ability, rose to his position of power. And yet based upon what we know about Bill's relationship with The Bride, it is no surprise that the series is titled "Kill Bill."
I never expected to be so impressed with the writing in a Quentin Tarantino film. The story, though cheesy, was well planned out and the dialogue was perfect for the feel and direction of the film. The plot of the first movie was like a bunch of boulders placed next to each other, and Volume 2 was the sand poured over them to fill in the gaps. Most of Volume 2 was the back story which was lacking from Volume 1, but not so noticeably absent that it was not entertaining. There were questions that went unanswered until the second installment, which is expected in a series.
Kill Bill Volume 2 added depth to the plot and the characters introduced in Volume 1. It featured martial-arts fighting scenes, but introduced more verbal sparring than its prequel. Uma Thurman is the headlining star of the Kill Bill series, but David Carradine stole the show when he breathed life into Bill while The Bride tried to take it away.
TWICE THE BILL, TWICE THE KILL - Review written on March 15, 2007
Rating: 5 out of 5
I sometimes joke that, to me, Kill Bill, Volume 1 is the second-greatest movie of all time and that Kill Bill, Volume 2 is the greatest movie ever. On a serious note, both volumes are excellent releases and do not disappoint, especially for Tarantino fans who were hoping for intense elements of Pulp Fiction.
Kill Bill, Volume 2 picks up with Black Mamba's rampage for redemption and revenge for the murder of her fiance and those closest to him. From start to finish is action in sync with brilliant dialogue that is mixed in with occasional flashes of humor.
Beatrix Kiddo, aka Black Mamba, as played by Uma Thurman, is a woman on a mission, a kind of mission where no one in this sequel can truly assist her. Besides her weapons, there is no support or assistance that she will be receiving in order to possess the physical and psychological edges that will be needed in order to overcome what were her nemeses.
Some very scary situations and predicaments are myriad throughout, but much inspiration can be drawn from witnessing the outcomes resulting from Beatrix Kiddo's firm resolve to not be overcome by fear and panic in the worst of situations, perilous or not.
Great music accompanies the fighting sequences that Kiddo must endure and the haphazardous journey travels that have to be undertaken. Charlie Feathers' Can't Hardly Stand It and three Ennio Morricone classics from movies past, namely Il Tramonto, L'Arena, and A Silhouette of Doom are aptly mixed in, along with other great musical arrangements and reproductions that unanimously make both Kill Bill Volumes not only among the greatest in motion pictures but also in movie soundtracks.
Again, great action, great dialogue, and great music combine along with a great cast that only Quentin Tarantino could amalgamate for this awesome, winning formula.
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