Quentin Tarantino, the genius behind Kill Bill: Vol. 1, and the drunk who appeared in pimp gear and with a cane on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, takes his first jab at the ancient art of sequel with Kill Bill: Vol. 2, a direct continuation of the original. And we only had to wait half-a-year (though the original left us wanting so much more that the wait felt painstakingly long)!
When last we left our blood-spattered heroine (known only as "the Bride"; played by Uma Thurman), she had sliced and diced her way through dozens of ninja assassins to kill two of those on her "Death List Five" (God, I love that), one in Tokyo, Japan and the other in Pasadena, California. For those who somehow missed out on the first and are for some reason reading this review, I'll offer a quick recap: The Bride's entire wedding procession was murdered by her ex-lover's ring of assassins with which she used to be affiliated. The Bride herself was capped in the skull, but managed to survive and, four years later, after awakening from a coma, obviously upset, is seeking bloody revenge.
Those remaining on the Bride's hitlist are Budd (Michael Madsen), Bill's brother who has shunned Bill and has hawked his sword, resorting to serving as bouncer at some hick bar; Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), Bill's current one-eyed lover who absolutely loathes her and who almost injected her with a deadly dose of poison in the first; and the ex-lover in question, the man himself, Bill (David Carradine). I hope they've made funeral arrangements. We also get a look into the Bride's past, and her training to become an assassin in a truly fabulous chapter in the film, entitled "The Cruel Tutelage of Pai Mei." Pai Mei, a character foreign to most American moviegoers is here portrayed with zest and talent by Gordon Liu, who played Johnny Mo in Vol. 1.
It is with giddy cinephiliac excitement that I write this review. If there's any director currently out there that is worth getting excited about, it's Quentin Tarantino, and if there's any new series that is worth getting geeky and nerdy about, it's his dazzling Kill Bill saga. Tarantino makes movies that critics and film buffs can slobber all over, and this one is surely no exception. You might as well start salivating.
There's no denying that the Kill Bill movies are mainstream...when they both reach #1 at the box office during their opening weekends, the DVD sales are amazing, and they even spark a very inspired Benihana commercial, they're mainstream successes. It's just a testament to Tarantino's power in the industry and with moviegoers that he can make the most bizarre, un-mainstream series in years and still rake in tons of cash. Tarantino has a wild talent, and this time, he's not hampered by reality like he was in, for example, Reservoir Dogs. His modern-day gangster samurai defy gravity, dig themselves out of their own graves, withstand more brutality than any real person could, and yank out eyeballs. It's a delirious, exhilarating experience, especially when commanded by someone as gifted as Tarantino is.
However, there is a heart to both of the Kill Bill movies, and in particular, this one. In essence, Vol. 1 was merely the setup for Vol. 2. It was full of lots of incredibly violent bloodbaths, great cheesy dialogue, and, as I said in my review, "a crazy freewheeling camera." It was the definitive style over substance movie...the one that was actually good. However, while Vol. 1 was all style, Vol. 2 is all substance. While many minutes went by in the original without a meaningful word said, Tarantino once again gets back to his real forte, having his characters talk in long, entrancing monologues and entertaining conversations. What's best about his movies is that he doesn't set aside time for character development via some kind of clichéd device; he just presents the characters to you, and lets them portray themselves through their speak.
Bill, whose face was never shown onscreen in the original, is here introduced at the beginning of the film, and becomes even more menacing when we realize that he's not merely a Dr. Claw-like enemy, but a real person capable of love and human emotion, and who dearly loved the Bride. It's scarier this way, to think that someone who loves you more than anything in the world can eventually rip your life apart. It's very metaphorical for spousal abuse. Whether or not that was intentional, it still works on a subtle, subliminal level. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is really a love story, borrowing much of its style and feel from the long, stretching, epic spaghetti westerns made immortal by Sergio Leone. There are still some excellent action scenes, and especially an incredible one between the Bride (once her real name is revealed) and Elle Driver, but not much of it feels like the cheesy 70's kung fu flicks they are modeled after. Even in the cheesiest of instances, everything here feels weightier and, well, a whole lot superior to what was in Vol. 1.
The acting is also much better than it was the first time around. Uma Thurman adds more depth to her character of the Bride, which amazingly never seems one-dimensional despite the über-thin plot. Daryl Hannah is crazy cool and slick in an evil fashion, making Elle Driver perhaps the best character in Kill Bill's impressive roster. Michael Madsen also delivers as Budd, though it comes as no surprise, since he was brilliant when he worked with Tarantino twelve years ago in the aforementioned Reservoir Dogs. Here, though, there is more maturity in the material. The biggest acting accomplishment in the entire series is contributed by David Carradine. The man is simply amazing as Bill, making him sweet, charming, the kind of guy you'd like to hang around with, while at the same time making him a scary, chilling, menacing killer. His gravelly yet charismatic voice is perfect for the role. His performance is nothing but Oscar-caliber all the way.
In the end, Vol. 2 is much better than the already fantastic Vol. 1, and it succeeds by providing character, heart, emotion, and substance to one of the wildest, most entertaining bloodbaths in recent memory.
Tarantino deserves some kind of a golden star for this.
