Introduction:
2003 was the year everyone
was talking about Kill Bill (and
maybe Return of the King too, but
that’s another story). Tarantino fans were thrilled with the movie (for the
most part) and were looking forward to what the Bride was going to do next.
Would the final confrontation with Bill be worth the wait?
Summary:
The Bride (Uma Thurman) has
survived her battles with two of the assassins that destroyed her life, but two
more remain: Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) and Budd (Michael Madsen). Driver in
particular seems to have a real grudge against The Bride and is looking forward
to a full-blown showdown. But Budd isn’t as energetic and opts for a more laid
back approach. The Bride underestimates Budd and soon finds herself buried
alive!
But The Bride has trained
with the Kung Fu master Pai Mei (Gordon Liu). She was tormented, abused and yet
the trial by fire provided her with new skills. She will need all of them
if she hopes to escape her premature burial and face Bill (David Carrdine). But
Bill has one small surprise that may
keep the Bride from completing her mission: to Kill
Bill.
Good Points:
- The face off between the Bride and Elle is classic Tarantino
- Bill’s little twist was a nice piece of work
- The Pai Mei sequence was a nice nod to old Kung Fu classics
Bad Points:
- The pacing of this volume slows way down
- Lots of dialogue scenes that seem to go on too long
- The ending may feel anti-climactic to some
Overall:
It was going to be tough to follow the speedy action
packed first volume. So
Tarantino goes in a slightly different direction, fleshing out the characters a
bit more (the Bride finally gets a name) and giving us a lengthy verbal
confrontation between Bill and the Bride. This shift will work better for some
viewers than others. Watching the films back to back makes volume 2 an uneven
experience, but as a stand alone film it’s still a good time. Yes it’s a bit
self indulgent with the dialogue, but I don’t mind it too much. Not quite as
much fun as the first volume, but well worth a spot in any Tarantino
collection.
Scores
(out of 5)
Visuals: 4
Sound: 5
Acting: 4
Script: 4
Music: 5
Direction: 4
Entertainment: 4
Total: 4
It's a terrific double Bill. ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat film and really I need to go back and watch it. It's been a long time, but I think it ranks up there for me personally as one of tarantinos best.
Cheers my friend
SFF
Yeah I hadn't seen it in quite a few years. In fact I saw part 1 on Laserdisc... that's how long ago it was. I found the Blu-ray version of both movies in one set for a really cheap price. Couldn't resist.
DeleteI liked this one, too, in particular the out-of-nowhere defeat (albeit temporary) at the hands of Budd. It was a defeat anticipated in a sense by Mark Twain: "The best swordsman in the world doesn't need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn't do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn't prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do; and often it catches the expert out and ends him on the spot." Budd had the sense to know he was outclassed and not to contest Beatrix' swordsmanship at all.
ReplyDeleteSo true. I love that moment too. She's so confident after taking out Ishii and the Crazy 88. She figures Budd is living in a trailer by himself, this is gonna be easy. Well not quite. :) Nice quote from Twain. Is that from one of his stories?
DeleteIt's from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Delete