Review of Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) by Stevenf — 06 May 2013

It's bigger, deadlier and much much better than Volume 1, which in itself was a fantastic film, but Kill Bill Volume 2 delivers a sucker punch in dramatic storytelling with wonderful homages to martial arts films of yesteryear, and this was mastered without there being as much action as the first.

Right off the mark, we need to remember that this is a continuation, that these two films were supposed to be one, so to recap, The Bride (Uma Thurman) is on a revenge mission to hunt out those who betrayed her, former colleagues of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, led by Bill (Dennis Carradine).

This time around we meet Budd (Michael Madsen) who is now living in a trashed out trailer and getting by as a bouncer, until The Bride shows up. We are also reintroduced to Elle Driver, the one-eyed assassin from the previous instalment, with a much bigger part to play this time around.

Volume 2 confidently ties up all the loose ends of the first outing, the story is broader in scope to allow more of a human touch to the colourful proceedings, but still using past films to capture the true nature of the story.

While not as violent as the original, there is much more dialogue in Volume 2, the fact that the whole 'saga' is in fact one film shows true balance to the story, The Bride at first is full of hatred and revenge, but now realises she has almost reached the end of the road, and this makes for much more interesting and intriguing scenes with The Bride and of course, Bill.

Quentin Tarantino has now proved his ability to tell a compelling story through various body movements and the art of filmmaking and creating the perfect scene to capture that one defining moment, and that is where the cinematography exceeds in every level in this film.

Uma Thurman delivers another driven performance as The Bride, and yes, her real name is revealed in the film. Her continuing motivation to capture the essence of a character is what makes her a suitable lead, something which will always leave a lasting effect. Dennis Carradine is typically charming yet deadly as Bill, his references to comic books and how superheroes reflect human nature is genius, and shows the powerful dialogue that Tarantino can create.

The action scenes still do exist, while not is colourful, they are certainly memorable and beautiful to watch.

My advice is to sit and watch these two films as a whole, and to receive a true masterclass in filmmaking and how to put across a simple story for everyone else to be interested in.