When Quentin Tarantino released "Kill Bill: Volume 1" last November, the response, while generally positive, was also intermixed with voices of dissent. Supporters, hungry for Tarantino's first film in six years, praised the movie as a return to form for the auteur. They pointed to the quick pacing of the film, the inventiveness of the cinematography and the stunning action sequences. Master Yuen Wo-Ping's fight choreography, combined with Tarantino's attentiveness to detail, made "Kill Bill: Volume 1" an example of great filmmaking.
Critics of "Volume 1" questioned elements that were clearly missing from the film. Where were the essentials of character development? Where was the trademark dialogue, loaded with pop-culture references and artful vulgarity, for which Tarantino was notorious? Would the excessive levels of violence and blood add up to any substantial message? All of these concerns are directly addressed in "Kill Bill: Volume 2," and Tarantino deepens the emotional core of his grindhouse epic while remaining true to its B-movie roots.
In order to appreciate "Volume 2" fully, one must treat it as the second half of a single film rather than a sequel. Originally conceived by Tarantino as a single epic film with 10 chapters, "Kill Bill" stretched to over four hours in length during its editing stage. This led to it being split in half -- Chapters 1 through 5 are covered in "Volume 1" and Chapters 6 through 10 in "Volume 2." Miramax took this unconventional step with Tarantino's consent, and the director felt that a three-plus hour grindhouse film would be, by his own admittance, "pretentious."
With this mentality in mind, one can see the deliberate way that "Volume 2" works as a foil for Volume 1. Whereas "Volume 1" focused upon the actions of its characters, "Volume 2" works toward justifying their motives. The violence, while still present in "Volume 2," takes a back-row seat to inventive dialogue, and, on more than one occasion, the drawn-out fight sequences in "Volume 1" are replaced with irony and redemptive comeuppance. "Volume 2" also focuses its satirical wit on different genre films, and while "Volume 1" was laden with parodies and tributes to 70s kung-fu and blaxploitation, "Volume 2" focuses more on the spaghetti Western films of the same era.
The running motif throughout the "Kill Bill" films has always been revenge. During her wedding rehearsal, The Bride, a former assassin who is pregnant at the time, is beaten and shot in the head by Bill, her boss, and her former friends of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. Awaking from a coma four years later, The Bride -- who remains unnamed until close to the end of "Volume 2" -- sets out on a mission to avenge the wrong done to her and her unborn daughter. At the end of "Volume 1," two out of the five people on The Bride's "Death List Five" have met their untimely end, and the viewer is given a stunning revelation: The Bride's daughter may still be alive.
"Volume 2" continues with Tarantino's nonlinear storytelling methods, and the film opens with a flashback to the day of the wedding rehearsal. It is during this opening scene that the viewer sees Bill (David Carradine) for the first time, for up until this point, he has only been shot from the neck down. His character oozes charisma, as Tarantino's comedic dialogue rolls off his tongue with slick confidence. Carradine steals every scene he's in, and the viewer grows attached to this character that should be, by all logic, loathed.
Tarantino's self-conscious witticisms allow the viewer to identify with spiritually corrupt individuals. Budd (Michael Madsen) is a washed-up, pathetic hit man with the right hint of befuddled trashiness. His confrontation with The Bride makes for one of the most terrifying, claustrophobic moments in the film. Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) is a one-eyed assassin that channels a perfect combination of eroticism and evil, and unlike the literal geysers of blood in "Volume 1," Hannah's fight with Thurman is painfully realistic. The two women brawl in the confines of a filthy trailer home, and the faceoff ends with cringe-worthy results.
Another scene worthy of attention is The Bride's training with Pai Mei (Gordon Liu), a legendary kung fu master. The humiliations that The Bride endures are both gripping and comedic, and Thurman's consistently physical performance reaches a peak.
The single weakness of this film is its long length. Several scenes, such as The Bride's encounter with an aged pimp and her final, dialogue-laden encounter with Bill, outwear their welcome.
However, in light of everything that the film does correctly, it is hard to hold these imperfections against the overall impact of the film. The melodrama is perfectly mounted with a combination of B-movie cheesiness and raw emotion, and the sparseness of the action scenes serves to highlight their significance. Tarantino has molded genre film to create something entirely his own, and only the most cynical of moviegoers will dismiss the exuberance and artistry displayed in "Volume 2."
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