Kill Bill, Vol. Two
(2004, Quentin Tarrantino)
Average Contributor Rating:

Written By: Quentin Tarrantino, based on a character by Tarrantino and Uma Thurman.
Directed By: Quentin Tarrantino.
Genre(s): Action.
Selected Cast: Uma Thurman (the Bride), David Carradine (Bill), Lucy Liu (O-Ren), Vivica A Fox (Vernita Green), Darryl Hannah (Elle Driver), Michael Madsen (Bud).

The Bride (Uma Thurman) is back, and her roaring rampage of revenge continues as she hunts down Hanso-hocking cowboy Bud (Michael Madsen), eye-patched superbitch Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), and – finally – the titular, philosophical Bill (David Carradine). It's really a shame that this film was broke up into two, because it's the second half that really suffers the most. Whereas the first instalment had incredible action but suffered because it ended abruptly, the second begins abruptly and doesn't have enough bite to keep it going. You can see the trailer sequence as something great if this was one whole film; a tense showdown after the all-out bloodfest in Tokyo, but here it just seems like a let down compared to the big battle of Volume One. There's also the fact that it takes the complete bonkers nature of the first one and multiplies it by twenty. Pai Mei, his Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Trick, and the coffin are all completely ridiculous, but that's not really what drags the film down. Sure, they're completely mad, but what else can you expect from "Kill Bill”? What does drag it down is comparison to Volume One, where the only real villain (Vivica A Fox is done in in the first few minutes) has an origins story, a background, and – basically – a character. Here, three villains are present, and none of them are given anywhere near enough time on screen. Maybe, with Bill, you can forgive this, because his absence only increases the mystery, but Elle and – in particular – Bud seem to be shoe horned in to get the death list number up to an even five. Frankly, "Kill Bill” could have done with getting rid of Bud, and concentrating on Elle here, but it doesn't. It really shows just how ridiculous IMDB is when a film like this charts on the top 250. . JB.
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