Cinema Eye - Movie News & Reviews
Untitled Page
  Top Links
Top Picks DVD Rental
Top Picks Home Cinema
Top Picks Broadband
Top Picks BlueRay
Top Picks Ringtones
Top Picks Gifts
Top Picks Casino
Top Picks DVD
Top Picks Plasma TV

Kill Bill Volume 2 (2004)


Director:
Cast:
Country:
Year: 2004
Score:
MPAA Rating:

image USA, 2004
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen

The second – longer – half of Quentin Tarantino’s epic grindhouse tribute is not as good as the first, but still a genre-hopping good time.

When we last left The Bride (Uma Thurman), she was in the middle of her post-coma revenge rampage, having successfully offed two of her former fellow assassins who betrayed her by attempting to kill her after leaving the business for wedded bliss. In Vol. 2, her to-kill list is down to three: Elle (Daryl Hannah), Budd (Michael Madsen) and, of course, old boss Bill (a lisping David
Carradine).

The opening sequence details – and I do mean details, as it is long and sluggishly paced – the church bloodbath that got The Bride so pissed off in the first place. Like an old Western, it’s shot in black and white. Subsequent chapters riff off other film styles; her cruel training with an Asian monk (Gordon Liu) is all on-the-cheap kung fu, a harrowing encounter with a coffin is psychological horror and the scenes involving Budd and Elle are all ‘70s drive-in exploitation. Even the opening and closing credits tip their hat to film noir.

So what to make of the film’s final chapter, in which The Bride finally comes face to face with Bill and finds the daughter she never knew? I suppose it’s Tarantino’s answer to Kramer vs. Kramer, with emphasis on the vs. Amidst all the soul searching and motherly love, the parents do find time to spar with razor-sharp swords. After all, Bill’s the kind of dad who believes Shogun Assassin is acceptable bedtime viewing for his little girl.

As adept as Thurman was at kicking ***censored*** in the first installment, I think she’s even better here. The girl gets a chance to actually act and pulls it off with an intense believability. Carradine doesn’t suck like I thought he would, but he’s no career-resurrecting find like Robert Forster was in Jackie Brown.

After an initial slow start, Vol. 2 kicks into high gear with punch and panache. Not only does it feel like a different movie than Vol. 1, it feels like five different movies. That’s because Tarantino adheres to the conventions of the various genres he loves within a chapter, and then runs with them.

Review by Rod Lott.


Review by: Rod Lott

No Responses to Kill Bill Volume 2

Why don't you leave one?

Recent News Recent News

Opening the Week of Feb 10
TIFF BELL Lightbox - Robert Bresson
Docs Soup March -Calvert (Review)
Free Film Weekend at Tiff Bell Lightbox
Opening the Week of Feb 3
Best Bets of the Week
NFB - (Jan 31 - Feb 6th)
AVENGERS Assemble on Twitter

Recent News Current Reviews

Journey 2: Mysterious Island
We Need to Talk about Kevin
Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro
Norwegian Wood
Chronicle
Big Miracle
Albert Nobbs
Moon Point
Le Vendeur
The Woman in Black
The Innkeepers
Miss Bala
Monsieur Lazhar
Tyrannossaur
Man on a Ledge
The Grey
A Separation
In the Land of Blood and Honey
Haywire
The Divide
Corialanus
Red Tails
The Iron Lady
A Dangerous Method
The Swell Season
Cinema Eye >> Movie News | Movie Reviews | Forums | Asian Fever | Information
Archives >> News | Reviews | Site
EYEBALL media network  | Cinema Eye | Home Cinema Reviews
RSS FEED
© 1998-2009, Cinema Eye, All rights reserved | Contact CinemaEye