Having lost her unborn child and narrowly surviving an attempt on her life, a former assassin named The Bride (Uma Thurman) continues her bloody revenge spree as she hunts down her old associates leading up to Bill (David Carradine).
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 opens with The Bride describing the “bloody satisfaction” she has derived from killing all of Bill’s assassins. She might as well have been speaking for the audience. Bloody satisfaction is exactly what writer/director Quentin Tarantino delivers in this gritty, gruesome, and deliriously funny conclusion. The martial arts action is in shorter supply in comparison to Vol. 1, but the quality and execution of what is presented is magnificent. Moreover, Uma Thurman comes alive onscreen in ways only hinted at in the previous film, while Tarantino draws out equally impressive performances from the rest of the cast.
Splitting what was once one film in two turns out to have worked quite well. Vol. 1 ended with The Bride (Uma Thurman) first skewering Vernita Green (Vivica Fox) in a warm-up match and then taking on O-Ren Ishi (Lucy Liu) and her Crazy 88 fighters in a monster-sized brawl. Along the way, the audience is teased with The Bride’s other would-be killers, Budd (Michael Madsen), the menacing, one-eyed Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) and her unseen boss Bill. It ends with the revelation that The Bride’s unborn child survived the assassination attempt against her. That brings us to Vol. 2 and The Bride’s real motivations for leaving the assassin business in the first place and for her determination to get back at the Viper Squad who tried to kill her and her child. Her next target is Budd (Michael Madsen), the loser of the Viper bunch who’s living in a trailer and works at a “titty bar.” He may be down and out, but he catches The Bride off guard and she’s left for dead, buried alive in someone else’s grave in a Sergio Leone moment. She rises to the challenge and returns to challenge her blonde arch-nemesis, Elle Driver, in a “gargantuan” fight within the confines of Budd’s trailer. With the help of a South American crime boss, The Bride locates Bill and arrives armed with her Hattori Hanzo sword at his home to be met by Bill and the last person in the world she would have expected to ever see alive.
Having now seen the “complete” Kill Bill, I have to say that Tarantino blows the lid off of convention and is redefining action filmmaking. He’s done something almost unheard of. He’s taken the extreme elements of exploitation film and given them center stage while creating complex, living characters that you want to know more about. He’s also mastered the art of the payoff. Countless films with great action and characters have fallen apart or led to disappointment when the payoff, the climaxes failed to meet expectations. Tarantino toys with the audience, eliciting laughter one minute or discomfort the next. He keeps you off guard, expecting anything and yet, you know how the story is going to play out. But it doesn’t matter. We know The Bride will kill Bill, but it’s how she gets to that point that makes the film a joy.
As previously mentioned, there is less carnage overall in Vol. 2. But the action scenes we are shown are even better in their execution. The Bride’s duel with O-Ren is garnish in comparison to the meaty match up between The Bride and Elle Driver. The timing and emphasis on every blow, reaction and shot from start to finish is deliberate and hugely satisfying. This is definitely the ultimate war of the blonde bombshells. It ain’t pretty, but if you don’t howl with a mix of glee and revulsion by the end of it you better check your pulse.
Kung fu fanatics will delight at Gordon Liu’s performance. In Vol. 1 Gordon played the masked Crazy 88 leader, not a bad part but hardly a role befitting the ‘Master Killer,” star of kung fu classics The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter. But in Vol. 2 Tarantino gives him his due respect. As the Vipers’ kung fu instructor Pai Mei, Gordon launches into nearly every old school convention in the book. While Uma Thurman ponders her fate while buried alive, the film jumps back years prior when Uma was a fresh recruit Bill sent to a remote, mountainous region of China to train with the ancient kung fu master. Tarantino uses this as an excuse to pummel the viewer with old school references including the exaggerated zooms, the laughing kung fu master, silhouetted warriors practicing forms (usually shown during opening credits), carrying buckets of water up stairs, and mastering technique through painful repetition. The Five-Point Exploding Heart technique is also a brilliant little addition. Uma Thurman digs right in to the training, but its Gordon who steals the show, just as Sonny Chiba did in Vol. 1. Of course, there simply isn’t enough here to satisfy. Like much of the film, Tarantino leaves you craving more.
As good as the action is, and it is good, the real attraction in Vol. 2 are the characters. Uma Thurman becomes a screen heroine unlike any other, one who is vulnerable, strong, playful, bloodthirsty, sexy, and caring. There are so many sides to her and Uma plays them all extremely well. Quite unusual for a violent exploitation film, Tarantino taps into one of the most basic and primal instincts, motherhood, and this more than anything else drives and defines Uma’s character. Carradine is equally unconventional and complex for a villain. He has a killer’s heart and instinct but he is also fatherly, reflective, and sensitive. The final confrontation between Uma and David is certainly unique in the annals of martial arts movie history, but it’s a fitting and fun end. Michael Madsen’s character is also worth mentioning. Tarantino first makes you feel a little sorry for the guy, but he turns out to be a bastard anyway. Hannah’s character is the least complex character for she’s full-on evil at all times. Honestly, Darryl “Splash” Hannah would have been my last pick for this role, but she ends up being a great villain in Tarantino’s hands. The one disappointment is the absence of Michael Jai White’s character, who is shown in some of the early trailers performing kung fu.
There are a few niggling problems. Tarantino may show exacting reverence for kung fu movies and spaghetti westerns through numerous visual and musical references, but its all academic. There’s no evolution of reinterpretation of these elements. Also, Tarantino lingers on scenes that are well done, but could have been cropped for the sake of the narrative. Michael Parks is terrific as the pimp Esteban and Tarantino lavishes precious screen time on him that could have been great in another film. But here, he’s an incidental character and the whole scene could have easily been cut. Another example is Carradine’s superman story which was long-winded. There were also times that Tarantino’s genre movie love was too self conscious as in seeing Shogun Assassin and a Roy Rogers movie playing on TV. For a moment is looked as if the finale was shot at Quentin’s house.
Tarantino may be the world’s ultimate fan boy, but he has an uncanny talent for bringing his visions to sparkling life onscreen. Furthermore, he ignores filmmaking boundaries in Kill Bill and succeeds in bringing together a film that offers a little bit of everything including an Oscar-caliber performance from Uma Thurman. Tarantino also blends together this stew of genre movie references and odes so infused with his enthusiasm, adoration and filmmaking genius that it’s virtually impossible not to be caught up in it, especially if you like classic kung fu and samurai films as much as he does.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Gordon Liu • grindhouse • Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) • Quentin Tarantino • Uma Thurman • Yuen Woo-ping • Zoe Bell
