Empire's Kill Bill: Vol. 2 Movie Review

Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Tarantino's Eastern Western.

Plot
Vernita Green and O-Ren Ishii are down, but for the Bride (Thurman), there's still three to go - Budd (Madsen), the murderous one-eye Elle Driver (Hannah), and the big bad voodoo daddy of them all, Bill (Carradine)…

Review
WARNING - MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS

Despite stronger critical notices than its superior anterior, the fourth-and-a-bit movie by Quentin Tarantino arrives on DVD with enough indecent haste to make one wonder if the studio has belatedly acknowledged that it struggled to stand alone. Hmmm. Well, taking our lead from QT's recent combined Cannes cut, the correct way to experience Vol. 2 is this: 1) Watch Vol. 1 first, ejecting the disc before Bill's final, 'Does she know?' line. 2) Take a tea break. 3) Skip Vol. 2's 'Previously on Kill Bill' catch-up and settle down for the denouement.

Inspected at such close quarters, even QT groupies may determine just how undisciplined the original '90-minute' (sic) screenplay must have been. The impounded Pussy Wagon is excused in a throwaway quip, but what happened to the 'death list five' - so redolent of The Bride's state of mind in Vol. 1? And if the manga'd-up O-Ren origin was considered so fundamental that an entire chapter was lavished on it in Vol. 1, where is the back-story for Elle Driver or Budd or Beatrix Kiddo? (Okay, so she once sparred with a stock Shaw Brothers' villain, but how and, moreover, why did she become an assassin in the first place?)

You could argue that such nitpicking is glib - after all, KB is an anthology told in contrasting east-west genres. And yet, to understand just how much damage was inflicted on Vol. 2 - as opposed to Vol. 1 - by this lack of discipline and the consequent decision to hack the film in half, consider The Brideís reaction to the revelation that her presumed-dead foetus survived and has been raised by her nemesis. Physically exhausted, emotionally spent and in total shock, Thurman - in her best moment - sinks to her knees.

QT designed this twist so that we would share not only Kiddo's pain, but her fatigue and her surprise also. Following the original blueprint, the audience would barely have recovered from the bloody Blue Leaves battle and we would have NO IDEA the unborn child had survived - instead, we've coasted through an incident-packed but hardly shattering 90 minutes waiting for Kiddo to discover what we already know, and for an action climax to rival Vol. 1's set-piece that never arrives.

Taken together, the structure of Kill Bill is so ramshackle that you don't have to be Miramax's fabled Harvey Scissorhands to identify those extraneous episodes that could have been saved for DVD had the studio not ripped up its own rulebook to accommodate their house genius. But - and this is a BIG BUT - you can understand why QT was personally loath to lose, well, anything really, because even Vol. 2's most unpromising detours slough off effortless cool - do we need to see the enterprising Bride ask directions from Esteban Vihaio? No. Is Michael Parks' woman-hating pimp entertaining? Yes.

Besides, there is now no reason to view Vol. 2 in isolation ever again (naturally, it still has to be purchased separately) and, reunited with its more kinetic, eye-catching predecessor, its function as the feminine Yin to Vol. 1's Yang becomes clear. With Bill killed and her child returned, The Bride is finally satisfied - and at the end of another long-awaited reunion, so are we.

Verdict

Reviewed by Colin Kennedy

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Average user rating for Kill Bill: Vol. 2


very good indeed ... More


Posted by jackcarlin18 at 23:12, 24 January 2012 \| Report This Post



A letdown, at first, but look closer...
If Vol 1 is the easten (martial arts) edition then this is the Western. The change in tone reflects this as the comic book colour and energy is replaced by a sense of realism and emotion. The action too seems to replace slick with grit (the faceoff between Elle and The Bride feels abit claustrophobic - still ace though). The lack of action, the list that the Bride carries and her car are to be missed not simply missing and the film feels talky and its length shows. More energy whilst retaining ... More


Posted by trainedasninja at 08:48, 05 June 2011 \| Report This Post



Still a classic
Not as ambitious as Vol. 1 but i found it to be equally enjoyable, if not more so in parts, becuase you see more of Carradine and Madsen's stuff (both of them sublime), some more meat for Uma (my fave actress) to chew on, and more of Quentin's unbeatable dialogue. Like just about every QT film, it is absolute heaven for me. ... More


Posted by lewistarantino at 01:34, 07 April 2011 \| Report This Post



Perfect Balance
Part 1 was all about violence and some eastern culture. Part 2 is about less violence, more emotion, and some eastern culture. Good balance Q.T. A real classic ... More


Posted by matthewj.white1234 at 09:20, 04 October 2010 \| Report This Post



arrrgggg !
A bit of a dissapiontment ! ... More


Posted by spartan24 at 18:06, 21 March 2010 \| Report This Post



And...
WHO GIVES A FUCK ABOUT THE FUCKING REVELATION?! ... More


Posted by !xHoTRoDx! at 22:07, 01 November 2009 \| Report This Post



Better than vol.1
It seems that I'm the only one who thinks the above and anyone who disagrees with me is not a true Tarantino fan because vol.1 was probably the worst - or, if you'd prefer, the least good - film out of the QT cannon because it was, unlike other QT films, brainless and was more like a gore-fest than a passionate revenge movie, although the usual million film references were certainly an exception, and there was hardly any of the signature QT dialogue, the main reason why Death Proof is slightly b... More


Posted by !xHoTRoDx! at 22:05, 01 November 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Then my work is done think the film only fully reveals itself after a first viewing, and several more, so in the end, knowing the daughter isn't dead becomes a key factor in how we perceive the whole bloody affair, as it were. That's why I suggested the decision might be based on factoring in the one and only time viewing experience most viewers would have. It is obviously a compromise decision if that's the case (in an ideal world, filmmakers could rely on people always giving films a second g... More

Posted by jobloffski at 09:13, 16 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
L: jobloffski I have absolutely no knowledge about why the revelation about the baby still being alive was placed by tarantino where it was. I can only guess... The revelation is not the lynchpin of the entire film in the way the sixth sense twist is. The main revenge plot is only the start point for the film structure. The real meat of KB is a collection of narratively linked mini movies that vary wildly in tone and visuals. These segments are so hermetically sealed from each other ... More

Posted by max314 at 23:14, 15 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
] ... More

Posted by jobloffski at 17:57, 15 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Kill Bill Vol 2? What a shit film....... way* ... More

Posted by kenada_woo at 17:55, 15 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
I have absolutely no knowledge about why the revelation about the baby still being alive was placed by tarantino where it was. I can only guess... The revelation is not the lynchpin of the entire film in the way the sixth sense twist is. The main revenge plot is only the start point for the film structure. The real meat of KB is a collection of narratively linked mini movies that vary wildly in tone and visuals. These segments are so hermetically sealed from each other that it would be dif... More

Posted by jobloffski at 17:29, 15 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
L: jobloffski Er...okay... Hope you're being deliberately self-parodic in your comments because you don't exactly react well to people talking exactly that way about the matrix, dude.te] Out of that whole rant (and it was directed at llou) I spent less than two lines talking about rixThat irritation you saw there was all rooted in llndered potential, and had nothing to do with the terpiece Trilogy a leap of faith and drew my own conclusions about what many other people percei... More

Posted by max314 at 13:50, 15 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
L: max314 In fact, the one thing that Bill's scene COULD have provided was to reveal the existence of the Bride's daughter, which would have been fucking HUGE after all the shit she's gone through in that second movie. But no, Quentin denies us that one climactic pleasure because he'd rather stick it at the end of the first movie as a cheap ploy to ensure people come back for Vol.2. And no, don't tell me that it adds to Vol.2, because it DOESN'T - at no point is the daught... More

Posted by Rgirvan44 at 11:05, 15 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Er...okay... Hope you're being deliberately self-parodic in your comments because you don't exactly react well to people talking exactly that way about the matrix, dude. I took a leap of faith and drew my own conclusions about what many other people perceive to be flaws and pointlessness in Kill Bill. And it is perfectly acceptable storytelling to tell the audience something and never refer to it again until the main character finds out, by the way, depending on what the writer is ... More

Posted by jobloffski at 10:58, 15 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
L: jobloffski It's not the matrix, eh max? rambles in that film at any point. Seriously, kidding] The problem with llhis happens in roof is that people talk without really having anything to talk i]. So what ends up happening is this closing monologue with Bill that just goes on and on and on... And in the end, all he says is, "You'll always be a killer," and, "I overreacted." By contrast, if you look at the Architect's speech in dscene is jam packed with new in... More

Posted by max314 at 22:18, 14 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
It's not the matrix, eh max? rambles in that film at any point. Seriously, kiddinghough it could be argued Bill is talking to keep himself alive long enough to find out if The Bride really intends to kill him, because he regrets what he did and wonders if the situation can be rescued for a happy ending? ... More

Posted by jobloffski at 20:59, 14 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Better than the first movie, this film hits its stride as long as we're in the desert in the company of Budd. But the third act is a tiresome bore. And we finally find out Bill's super-secret assassination technique: talking people to death. Watchable, but ultimately unfulfilling. ... More

Posted by max314 at 16:39, 14 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE: RE:
The story is far more balanced than Colin Kennedy gives it credit for. Were it chronological, it would show that the showdown at the house of the blue leaves came first, and shows the desire for revenge at its most extreme and uncontrolled. By the end, it is an act of desperate sadness to take revenge, with love getting in the way, conflicting with the unshakeable feeling that Bill deserves to die, something he himself doesn't argue against by the end. The destructive nature of revenge in ... More

Posted by jobloffski at 11:36, 14 June 2009 \| Report This Post



RE:
L: Hughezy in the magazine review this film only got 2 stars. God forbid Mr Tarintino get annoyed at Empire. as 3, actually. ... More

Posted by Spengo at 23:56, 13 June 2009 \| Report This Post




I love this movie couse i was surprised about plot. Less blood, less gore but more dialogues, more drama and A COLD REVENGE. Style of end of this story was in a poster of first Kill Bill. One of the best QT's work. ... More


Posted by ARmy2510 at 13:27, 02 January 2009 \| Report This Post




in the magazine review this film only got 2 stars. God forbid Mr Tarintino get annoyed at Empire. ... More


Posted by Hughezy at 13:49, 07 August 2008 \| Report This Post




in the magazine review this film only got 2 stars. God forbid Mr Tarintino get annoyed at Empire. ... More


Posted by Hughezy at 13:49, 07 August 2008 \| Report This Post



Not Bad, Qutie Gripping.
I haven't seen the first one so I was very much in the dark over what happened in the begining but luckily enough, there was a showing of what went on thank goodness. It seemed a little too long for a action flick like this, there was a lot of talking and not a lot of questions was asked about her unborn child suddenly alive and well though she was supposed to be dead? I don't know, should have seen the first one before this. The ending was a little silly, it took half an hour for her to decide ... More


Posted by joanna likes films at 08:18, 02 August 2008 \| Report This Post



Yes!
I put off watching this film for a long time. Years in fact. But this was only because I didn't want my fond memories of Vol. 1 trodden upon in any way. Luckly however, Tarantino pulls it off again. Even though Thurman sometimes, and only the minority of times, tends to overact she pulls off an overall beautiful performance. The supporting cast rocks in it's entirity and Kill Bill Volume 2 is a welcome addition to good ole Tarantino's body of work. ... More


Posted by t_bell at 14:38, 12 July 2008 \| Report This Post



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Kill Bill: Vol. 2Tarantino's Eastern Western.

Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Tarantino's Eastern Western.