Kill Bill Vol. 2

THE GOOD:

Great Explanation of the storyline.

Very cool fighting moves.

Happy ending at the end.

THE BAD:

Not enough blood and gore, which is what I went to the movies in the first place.

SUMMARY:
Well this is the sequel to Kill Bill Vol 1. The actual movie is extremely good. It came out after a relatively short time which is always good because it keeps people from forgetting the first one. I think the second movie is based on showing the Story more than fighting scenes.

It explains the link between Uma Thurman and Bill, and how their relationship changed and shows how she becomes stronger than her master. It also has a kind of happy ending because Uma gets her daughter back and they live happily ever after.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 was a non-stop, gratuitously over-the-top, violent and very enjoyable film. Kill Bill Vol. 2 is much more introspective. Yes, there are some gnarly fight scenes, but the overall tone and pacing of this segment is slower and more deliberate. Tarantino opts for dialogue instead of fighting. The story picks up right after the events of Vol. 1, with the Bride still hot on the heels of the previously unseen Bill. In fact, watching Vol. 1 is unnecessary. Tarantino begins Vol. 2 with a beautiful black and white flashback at the Bride's wedding, where Bill and the rest of his assassins slaughter the wedding part, and Bill shoots the pregnant Bride in the head, leaving her in a coma. Tarantino does something important here, which lays the groundwork for the overall tone of the narrative. As the slaughter starts, the assassins enter the building and begin firing automatic weapons. The camera actually backs up and pans away, so the only thing the viewer can see is a few stray...

THE GOOD:
The whole feel, and setting for the movie gets you hooked. We now get to see how everything that happened at The Bride's "wedding". The storyline is pushed further, showing flashbacks between The Bride and Bill, and their past together. There is actually more emotion to this film, which gives it a special quality that Vol. 1 didn't have.

Vol. 2 also takes us to a much different backdrop, instead of the Japanese locations of Vol. 1, Quentin takes us now to the deserted, dusty, western locales of Texas and Mexico. However, with the oriental martial arts and samurai sword-clashes remaining as a heavy influence, Tarantino also gives Vol. 2 a gritty, sun-blazin' spaghetti western theme.

Once again, the fighting choreography is spectacular, and truly amazing. Though there is not as much action in Vol. 2 as there was in Vol. 1, there are some remarkable scenes in this volume, including an all-out, trailer-trashin' chick-fight between DVAS nemesis' Black...

THE GOOD:
+ superb performance by David Carradine
+ reveals a lot of background material
+ some interesting characters
+ VERY nice fight scene between Black Mamba and
+ Pei Mei

THE BAD:
- Not enough fighting
- You might be disappointed in the way some of the Bride's enemies are dealt with.

SUMMARY:
Most people will cite the performance of Pei Mei as being the most amazing in the movie. But I find that David Carradine as Bill somehow came across as the ultimate assassin gang boss. He was poised, calm, and yet had a deadly quality about him that was almost palpable.

The movie has a lot more talking and plot building than Kill Bill Vol 1 so that might disappoint some fans. I found the characters enjoyable enough that it was a good sit.