Kill Bill Vol 2

What's the Plot?

After dispensing with her former colleagues O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), the Bride (Uma Thurman) resumes her quest for justice and revenge upon the people responsible for murdering all who were present at her wedding rehearsal, and leaving her for dead. With those 2 down, the Bride only has 2 remaining foes on her "death list" to pursue. The 2 left from the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS) are Budd, aka Sidewinder (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver aka California Mountain Snake (Daryl Hannah). When, and if, she can dispatch them, nothing will stand between her and her ultimate goal... Bill (David Carradine) himself. An original member, and the most talented of the Squad, the Bride was called Black Mamba. She was also Bill's lover, but when she became pregnant with his child, she "disappeared" to have it grow up in a world without assassinations and constant threats to their lives. What the Bride doesn't know is that Bill, after ordering, and helping in her attempted murder, has their child with him, and has had since that massacre 4 years ago. Her subsequent coma has denied her the knowledge of the existence of her child and only a thirst for revenge. Will she succeed? Even when she finds out about her child?

The Review

The decision to split the new film from Tarantino into 2 parts was originally met with contempt and cries of attempts to get the paying punters to cough up twice. Then Vol. 1 was unleashed and jaws collectively dropped from critics and audiences alike. Now Vol. 2 hands cinema-go'ers a repeat prescription but produces a very different set of symptoms.

If the first installment was a heady mix of kung-fu with Spaghetti Western, delivering some the best fight sequences of recent memory, then the last part is what Tarantino is known for: quirky characters, cracking dialogue, dark humour and an undeniable air of cool plastered all over it. I mean, come on, it's got an appearance by Samuel L. Jackson in it! From it's beginning noir re-cap of events so far - very Pulp Fiction with it's fake back screen behind Thurman's monologue to the camera whilst driving - through to it's dark wit - "I over-reacted," is Bill's response to The Bride's questioning of his sanctioning her murder - this 2nd slice of the Kill Bill pie is more familiar to fans of Resevoir Dogs, Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction. Now, for those of you who were sucked into this roaring rampage of revenge for it's violent action, then fear not, for there is still some to die for.

There may not be as much, but what there is, is pretty "eye-catching" (watch and all will become clear!) Martial arts fans will no doubt notice the swing from Japanese to Chinese influences in the way the camera and the fighting moves, but like Vol. 1 there is so much more thrown into the mix that non-martial art fans are still catered for. But, this time round, there's a taste left in the mouth, and it ain't a truly nice one. Maybe because it's so different in tone to the first one, or the fact that, no matter how you look at it, the finale is, to put it bluntly, a letdown. After all that Thurman's Bride has had to endure to get to face Carradine's Bill, you expect something along the lines of her confrontation of Lui's mafia boss, but what you get is something like a fast-food burger that doesn't match the picture above the counter. Maybe back-to-back could improve the overall effect, but it's a shame that such a cracking start had to end with a dullish thud. Tarantino's Matrix if you will, but only in 2 parts, not 3.

STEVE'S SCORE