Kill Bill: Volume 2
After 6 months of waiting, Quentin Tarantino's continuation of Black Mamba's (Uma Thurman) quest to kill Bill (David Carradine) is here. And it is worth it. After showing the massacre at the wedding chapel that started the whole thing, we catch up to events concerning Budd (Michael Madsen). Bill comes along to warn him about The Bride, but Budd re-assures him that everything will be okay if she wants to pick a fight. Also meeting Budd is the 4th member of the troop, Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) for a little exchange of goods. As a result, The Bride, as expected, comes along and has to deal with both of them. Once finished, the only one left is Bill. Standing in her way toward her ultimate goal though is the discovery of her daughter, B.B. (Perla Haney-Jardine).

After watching the first one, I felt then, and now even more so, that Tarantino's vision should have been realized by releasing this as one film of 4 hours than 2 of 2 hours. The first one hits us from all sides, introducing every major plot point in rapid succession while indulging in some of the bloodiest swordplay ever seen. In Volume 2, there's a contrast. Dialogue, slowed down by a lot, takes the stage as all the violence is held back, probably with the exception of the catfight between The Bride and Elle. You won't see squirting blood or body parts strewn about. Instead, you'll see the delicate balance of action and wordplay. That, along with a hilarious training sequence with Pai-Mei (Gordon Liu), makes for an enjoyable movie from beginning to end. It plays mind games with us with its long-winded speeches, constant glares where their eyes speak volumes, and the closeness we get to the characters, including some time in a coffin. Probably the only thing that disappoints is the soundtrack, which isn't as enjoyable as the Asian-influenced first one. But this can be overlooked by the events on screen, which doesn't need a soundtrack to move it along. 3.5 stars