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KILL BILL VOL. 2
Review by Michael Jacobson
Stars:
Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Darryl Hannah, Gordon Liu,
Michael Parks
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Studio: Miramax
Features: See Review
Length: 137 Minutes
Release Date: August 10, 2004
“You
and I have unfinished business.”
With
Kill Bill Vol. 2, maverick filmmaker Quentin Tarantino created a pure
movie going experience that is almost exhilarating beyond words.
It’s a bold experimental recipe that mixes Hong Kong styled action,
swordplay and wirework with spaghetti western cinematography to tell a good old
fashioned tale of revenge…but the real seasoning is the return of his sharp
dialogue and the delightful playfulness with conventional narrative, telling a
story somewhat out of sequence but bringing even more impact by doing so.
Though
originally conceived as a single epic film, Tarantino recognized that he had a
viable two part offering in the works, and re-constructed his pictures thus.
In Vol. 1, we were introduced to The Bride (Thurman), a one-time
member of an elite group of killers for hire known as The Deadly Viper
Assassination Squad. And we learned
that her attempt to retire from that life and settle down into small town
marriage was none too pleasing to her former boss, Bill (Carradine), who showed
up with his crew on her wedding day to speak his mind as to why The Bride and
her fiancée shouldn’t be joined in holy matrimony.
In Tarantino films, that’s a nice way of saying maximum bloodshed
followed.
Left
for dead but awakening from a coma four years later, The Bride picks up the
pieces of her life and moves forward with a new, deadly purpose…she would kill
Bill, and the rest of the squad that took everything from her.
We
left her in the first part with two down, three to go.
As Vol. 2 picks up with a quick recap from The Bride to make sure
we’re up to speed, we join her in progress heading for her showdown with
Bill’s brother, Budd (Madsen), who has since retired from the life himself and
settled down as a pot bellied bouncer living in a trailer.
Easy pickings for The Bride after we saw what she could do in the first
installment, right? Wrong.
Budd may not be a formidable physical foe, but his sharp mind and
ruthless creativity brings about her biggest challenge yet…I wouldn’t dream
of giving anything away.
Also
left on the list is Elle Driver (Hannah), the one eyed beauty chomping at the
bits to finish up what the group had left undone four years ago.
Her confrontation with The Bride just about redefines the dynamics of the
conventional fight scene, by Tarantino setting it in one of the most confined
spaces imaginable.
And
of course, Bill himself. The bloody
trail of revenge leads to him, but will The Bride be ready for what her old boss
has in store for her?
Though
I loved the first film tremendously, and recognized it for what it was as a
gleeful homage to the many B picture cinematic stylings of the 70s, many
Tarantino fans were a little put off by the effort. Those who were expecting his usual quotable dialogue and
quirky character development were instead presented with a furiously
over-the-top yarn of blood and action galore, all in the style of the old Hong
Kong swordplay films where limbs flew, heads rolled, and the red life force
sprayed in almost beautiful fountains rather than oozing in pools of guck.
But
Vol. 2 took everything that was built up in the first part and brought it
to new heights. The snappy prose
was back, along with the memorable lines, deliberately skewed narrative form,
and surprisingly enough, even stronger characterizations than before.
The back story of Bill and The Bride gets filled in over the course of
the movie, and it’s a terrifically satisfying one.
By the time they square off (considering the movie is called Kill
Bill, I haven’t given anything away, have I?), it’s a well-earned climax
that will have you leaning forward in your seat with anticipation.
There
are surprises galore along the way, and I’d have to be some kind of troll to
give any of them away. I can only
say that the more I see the film, the more I delight in it, and even more so, I
delight in watching others experience it for the first time.
Coming
from a die hard Tarantino fan who often wondered aloud if he could possibly ever
bring out a film equal to his great breakthrough Pulp Fiction, I’m
pleased to announced that with Kill Bill Vol. 2, he has done more…he
has surpassed the unsurpassable and eclipsed the ineclipsable.
This is a movie deliriously drunk with the absolute joy of
filmmaking…and Quentin’s brew will have you gleefully intoxicated with its
spell long after the credits roll.
Video
****
Like
the first one, the anamorphic transfer for Vol. 2 is pure dynamite.
Colorful, vibrant, and with extremes ranging from hot desert sunscapes to
black and white images, with a little of everything in between, the picture
remains sharp, clear, and with remarkable level of detail throughout.
No undue grain, bleeding or compression mar the experience…highest
marks.
Audio
****
The
5.1 soundtracks (Dolby Digital and DTS) are equally remarkable.
Audio is so crucial to this movie that during one extraordinary sequence,
there’s nothing BUT audio. The
full range of surrounds keep the sound ambient and active, with the subwoofer
accenting the action. Dialogue is
clean and clear throughout, and the musical arrangements by The RZA have plenty
of kick. Dynamic range is quite
strong.
Features
**
The
extras include a deleted scene (showing David Carradine in action in a full Hong
Kong fight sequence), a making-of featurette with cast and crew interviews, and
a look at the musical CHINGON performance at the premiere of the movie.
Summary:
