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Kill Bill - Volume Two

Kill Bill - Volume Two

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A so-so sequel

Rating: 3/5

KILL BILL VOLUME TWO is really the first film (I might even argue there were signs in JACKIE BROWN) where Tarantino's "all-talk-as-a-substitute-for action" began to grow weary. In his masterful homage KILL BILL VOLUME ONE, Tarantino did something entirely different from his previous films...he went minimal on the dialogue and let the action dominate the tale; in his previous films, long scenes of dialogue would build the tension into a surprising crescendo of violence. VOLUME ONE went the opposite direction...extensive action scenes that were either interspersed with moments of levity (Bride and Vernita's fight coming to a comical halt after her daughter returns from school, the "trix are for kids" moment between The Bride and O'ren, The Bride stopping to whip the little Crazy 88 boy with her Hanzo sword); these were classic moments. And the dialogue in VOLUME ONE, what little there was, was immensely witty, original, snappy, and quotable. I'd say that VOLUME ONE has the most quotable dialogue of ANY Tarantino film! Sometimes, less is more. In VOLUME TWO, Tarantino goes back to his roots and this was not a good return for me. Admittedly, the main cast (Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Darryl Hannah) is excellent and do a great job of inhabiting their characters, but Tarantino really overdid it on the talking!

KILL BILL VOLUME TWO concludes the saga of The Bride (Thurman admirably reprising the role from ONE, but looking a lot less sexy than she was in ONE) on her quest to eliminate her fellow Deadly Viper Assassination Squad members Budd and Elle (Madsen and Hannah, who had cameos in ONE) and, of course, their leader Bill (Carradine in an assured performance). The opening scene fills in the gaps by detailing events prior to the wedding massacre. We finally get to see SEE the mercurial character Bill and Carradine's portrayal is the main reason I even remotely like this film at all. He manages to make Bill simultaneously lethal and sympathetic, an amazing feat. Actually, this opening scene and the concluding scenes with Bill are the best of the film, but everything in between is a muddled mess.

While Madsen is very good as Budd, I felt like his chapter was the weakest. That scene at the strip club where he is a bouncer was completely UNNECESSARY. It just seemed like filler with a bunch of pseudo-real, stereotypical characters: the drunk, high foul-mouthed owner (who wasn't very convincing!), the aging bitchy stripper (who came across as just a bitch!). Also, how in the heck did The Bride (who obviously did her homework, honed her skills, and used her best instincts before she approached her targets in ONE (Vernita and O'Ren) let Budd get the upper hand on her, especially given that fact that she must have KNOWN that he knew she was coming (his brother Bill told him as soon as he found out she took down O'Ren and her army). Did she just think he'd be sitting there waiting for her to slash him with her Hanzo sword?! She's smarter (or at least I thought she was!) than this. Budd's outsmarting of The Bride is another amateur Tarantino trick disguised as a realistic moment. And, remember, this film, Part TWO, is supposed to be a more "realistic" representation of the Kill Bill universe, the counterpoint to the fantastical Part ONE.

Then there is the Pai Mei flashback, which ties in to how she will escape her current predicament. These scenes are OK, reminiscent of the kung fu 70s movies, but they seem a bit to "obligatory" with all these "cool" moments illustrating where she learned all those moves that she executed in ONE to take down her enemies in that film. Surviving the ordeal, during which time Elle kills Budd (in a perversely funny moment), then the Bride has the showdown with Elle (and we learn The Bride's real name in the process). Then, The Bride "magically" shows up at the doorstep of some guy named Esteban (Michael Parks, who played Earl Macgraw in ONE) who is yet ANOTHER former mentor of Bill and HAPPENS to know where she can find him! It is at this point when I realized that Tarantino really didn't have a plot or story for this film and that everything that happens is just a convenience to serve the plot to keep the film moving to it's obvious conclusion. As hard as it was for her to conquer her enemies in ONE, in TWO, everything was just too pat to be convincing.

Of course, the concluding scene between The Bride and Bill is extremely engrossing (mainly because of Carradine) and, if the overlong middle scenes had not been so monotonous and poor, it could in some way redeem this film, but 2 strong scenes do not a great film make! Ironically, for all the dialogue and speechifying in TWO, I was much more involved with and felt I knew more about the characters in the non-talkative, dialogue-lite part ONE! The characters in ONE jumped off the screen and left a lasting impression with me...not so much in TWO. Seems like many that say that TWO is better than ONE do so simply because it happens to contain more dialogue and is delves deeper into character, but it's just a bunch of characters talking and talking and at the end of it all, we still don't really know much of anything about them. The main characters in ONE are much more interesting, including The Bride ONE trumping The Bride TWO. Part ONE is good enough for me!

The Trouble with Bill, Part 2

Rating: 3/5

I explained in my review of Kill Bill Vol 1 that I generally did not enjoy watching the first film because of its excessive style & overstuffed pop culture homages and references. Well I didn't enjoy Vol 2, either, but it's because of different reasons. The second half of Tarantino's Kill Bill has a fairly simpler style, and far less pop culture references. That's the good thing, at least for me. But unfortunately, it doesn't stop me from disliking the film. The problem I have with Vol 2 is that numerous scenes are unbelievably ponderous mostly because of excessive dialogue. I don't have anything against dialogue-driven films (All The President's Men and Glengarry Glen Ross are some of my favorites that choose words over action), but the conversations in this particular film are pretty dull and uninteresting. They drag on so long that you have no choice but just sit there and wait for the fight scenes. And speaking of fight scenes, there are only fifteen minutes of fight scenes here compared to the half hour in Vol 1. You'll be sorely disappointed if you're expecting to see Uma Thurman battle dozens of swordsmen yet again. I did like the performances: Thurman and the late David Carradine are wonderful onscreen, and the supporting cast do a great job on their own. Still, I can't say that I enjoyed watching Kill Bill Vol 2. Like Vol 1, it's not a film that I would admire, even though many others do admire it. Again, if you love this film, then that's fine by me. But in my honest opinion, I don't really like this film, so I don't care for it very much.

Grade: C-

A woman after my own heart

Rating: 5/5

Una Thurman is a fine actress, and shows it in this Hi action movie, she swings a mighty sword for sure.Can't wait to see the second half of the movie

Excellent Movie

Rating: 5/5

The only thing more exciting and action filled than Kill Bill movies, is Kill Bill movies in Bluray. Excellent movie

Kill Bill ll

Rating: 4/5

Arrived before Xmas which was good. No complaints from beneficiary. I liked the fact I was kept advised of the location of the product as it moved through the shipping maze.