Review of Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) by Hoops2448 — 25 Sep 2011
Its rare that I give a film 10/10 or 5 stars but this film truly deserves it. It is the perfect culmination of the two films. The first film acted as a great origins film looking back on what brought The Bride to where she was when she started her quest for vengeance but it had its flaws (ultra violence only works in small quantities, just ask Total Recall).
Kill Bill Vol 2 works with what the 1st volume had already established but rounded out the remaining targets as well as The Bride herself. The emulation of classic Kung Fu films further accentuated the characters and there admiration for the art.
In the 1st volume that was something only touched on briefly and most characters suffered because they were not properly build with O-Ren Ishii being nothing more than a mob boss. Volume 2 shows Bill to be both a complex character with multiple urges and desires but also a extremely childish character who is incredibly impulsive.
Yet again Tarrantino's script is so nuanced and detailed that every conversation comes off as real in a film that even embraces the cheese of vintage Kung Fu movies (fast zoom and all). Despite the fact that the film had a problem with momentum there was never a moment when I wasn't completely encapsulated in what was happening on screen with the Pai Mei scenes being extremely riviting despite serving very little purpose.
The main draw however was understanding these characters, what drives them, why they need what they need. Daryl Hannah's Elle is one such character whose seething hatred of The Bride would seem like petty jealousy if you had only seen the 1st film but there is so much more to it and this film succeeds in every aspect of character.
If there is anything wrong with this film it would be Budd's section (not that there is anything wrong with Michael Madsen) because there were scenes that just served no purpose at all, not even a little and yet were shoehorned in to give Madsen something to do.
The finale of the film is both riveting and deeply emotional with everything that had been set up by the final moments of Volume 1 culminating beautifully and the final scene with The Bride (whose name is revealed) on the bathroom floor just describes how detailed this film really is.
A masterpiece in every sense of the word. Also, who knew making sandwiches could be so captivating.
This review of Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) was written by Hoops2448 on 25 Sep 2011.
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 has generally received very positive reviews.
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