Tarantino Transcends with a Masterful Conclusion
Kill Bill Vol. 2 is the conclusion to Vol. 1, which saw The Bride defeating Vernita Green and O-Ren Ishii. Like Vol. 1, this movie is full of gore and brutal action scenes that actually look like they hurt. But this time, it had something that made me realize that Tarantino had indeed gone above Pulp Fiction... it had a plot. Now it all truly comes together, with amazing imagery, fantastic violence and a plot that in the hand of any other director would be tame. Tarantino has created a masterpiece with Kill Bill as a whole. It is a brillaint homage to just about every kung-fu, sword slashing, gun-toting movie out there. But do not be fooled by the fact that this is a homage. This is an epic that will stand for ages.
The film opens with the event that sent The Bride on her roaring rampage, the dress rehersal for her wedding. This scene is shot in black and white, and features Bill and The Bride having a coversation on the porch of the chapel. It seems they had once been together, and now Bill is coming to see her away. In one of the many in-jokes that pepper this movie, Bill tells the groom that it's "bad luck to see a bride in her wedding dress before the wedding." Indeed it is, as his gunmen proceed to shoot up the place, killing everyone and leaving The Bride in a coma for four years. When she wakes up, she kills two of her shooters, and leaves with 3 left on her list. The loner Budd, who has given up his life of sword-fighting and his now a bouncer at a night club. The ruthless one-eyed Elle, who would like nothing more than to see The Bride die by her blade. And finally, there is Bill, the object of Kiddo's disaffection.
Before the mayhem truly begins, we also see in a flashback the training of The Bride, under the tutelage of Pai Mei, an ancient warrior that would live forever, simply because of the fact that the world needs characters like him. He is an object of great humor, and also a major focal point, as his learnings have a huge impact on The Bride, but that cannot be seen in full force until later in the film. This film is more about setting up the violence that took place in the first film, and building up to the confrontation with Bill. But when the action comes, it comes on hard and abruptly. The scene in which The Bride fights Elle is totally different from anything seen thus far, as it demolishes a trailer as the combatants are thrown through walls while smashing each other with various objects. It's a far cry from the elegance found in the first film.
The final chapter, and that of course deals with Bill, is extremely well done. Here Tarantino brings it all to the table, quite literally. The dialogue is geeky stuff that you'd expect. No other director would have the villain talking about Superman to the woman here to kill him, and no other director would certainly be able to have it make sense. The setting is perfect, the look is perfect, and the fight is perfect. If you're going to see this movie because of the action, then well, you might be disappointed. But if you're going to see the ending to a brilliant movie, then none of the irony will be lost on you, and the fight will hold you captivated.
In Vol. 2, Tarantino blends different genre's even more than he did in the first film. In many scenes, we see a black and white background on a color screen, which gives the film an older, technicolor look to it. There are no anime scenes, but you've got to remember, it's all one film, and having more than one would ruin the originality of it. Several scenes are just like some cheesy '70 show about kung-fu, complete with the disco music and fighting silhouettes. There is no honest way for me to describe exactly what this film looks like, but I can tell you that it feels just the way it should. I can't explain what that means, you'll have to see it for yourself. And then you'll realize, that as a whole, this film is just about perfect.
If I could nitpick about one thing, it's the fact that it's more or less straightforward, there isn't any time-switching to speak of. The wedding scene works quite well, since we know what is going to happen, but other than that, it doesn't leave the audience asking questions after a certain scene like Kill Bill Vol. 1 and even Pulp Fiction. But I'm not going to complain about that too much. Quentin Tarantino is a genious, and Kill Bill is a movie that will define a genre for many generations.