Rating of
4/4
... and consumed.
memento_mori - wrote on 08/24/13
I personally prefer Kill Bill: Volume 2 to the first. That's awkward, because the films were intended as one giant film and were only separated into two because of the length… Well, I guess it's the better half then.
But with that said, it does also come with some faults of the first one.
I find it lingers, it doesn't have the same over-the-top self-awareness of Volume 1. There is a scene with truth serum involved, which I thought was just ridiculous, and I find the fight between The Bride and Elle Driver to go way too far. Even for Tarantino standards, that scene made me cringe.
Otherwise, it has all the goods of the first one and improves them.
The acting - which was great already - is perfected in this one. We finally see David Carradine's face and Uma Thurman shows what she can do with her dramatic talent, not just her Samurai sword.
The flashbacks were also handled much better. One was in black and white, which I did not see coming, and the other one involved a hilarious teacher.
Quentin Tarantino's direction is great, again. While I would not like it coming from different directors, he knows what he is doing. Lots of quick zooms into faces, wide scopes of great action and surprise twists and turns.
Speaking of twists, probably the most memorable scene in the entire movie is the twist before the end. I'm not giving anything away, since it was said at the ending of Kill Bill Volume 1: The Bride's child is alive.
The confrontation where she learned the truth and acted alongside Carradine and the child actress was simply beautiful, Thurman at her very best.
This film in particular shows just how far a character in a series can develop. That's why Volume 2 is a huge improvement, yet it still retains everything that was great about Volume 1.
An adrenaline shot to the veins, an attribute of the acting hall of fame, an absorbing finale to a crazy film.
