Outstanding

Rating: 10/10 (18 April 2004)

(Contains Spoilers) Well, after waiting first till February, then March, and now mid-April to finally see how this revenge fantasy plays out, I finally saw it last night, and guess what? This blows away Vol 1. for me. The characters are more fleshed out, we finally understand the Bride (and Bill's) motives for revenge, and believe it or not, Tarantino ultimately delivers a love story (albeit a sick, twisted and massively dysfunctional one.) Michael Madsen was amazingly sympathetic as Budd, an "alkie loser" you feel sorry for because he realizes he deserves whatever he gets. I loved Daryl Hannah's evil Elle. I haven't liked her in a movie like this since, well, ever. The fight scenes are sparser than in Vol 1, but the Budd/Elle/Bride showdown is definitely worth the wait. (Don't open the suitcase!) Again, Tarantino pulls out his bag of cinema tricks- we get scenes with rear projection, shot in b/w, grainy color stock for the kung fu scenes, credit fonts from the thirties, etc. The final showdown is surprisingly brief, but still satisfying. Uma Thurman has never been lovelier, and the movie holds up well on its own as a separate piece from Vol. 1- amazing. This and the Dawn of the Dead remake are my favorites so far for 2004, but it's hard to see how anything could surpass this. 10/10.