Perfect Way to End His Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2004)

Kill Bill Volume 1 blew me away. It had such an impact on me that I saw it twice within 12 hours when it first came out. I had to see it twice to believe it. The music, costumes, visuals, anime, and bloodletting were too much for me; I instantly fell in love. I didn't think that it was possible to fall in love with a movie, but Tarantino proved me wrong.

I very anxiously awaited the release of Volume 2. I had never been so excited about the release of a movie in all of my life. Then it happened, April 16th 2004; Kill Bill Volume 2 was opened to the public. Opening night I went to see it with such hope of a continuation of the first half, an adrenaline rush of hip music and intense action. Then the movie started. The first hour or so I sat in the theater waiting for a repeat of Volume 1. It never came, and I was o so disappointed. I left the theater in utter disbelief wondering how the film, or half film, of my lifetime (Volume 1) could possibly be concluded (Volume 2) in such a way as to disappoint me. It wasn't until the next morning, after a night of mental processing, that I realized Volume 2 was PERFECT. Volume 2 was everything that Volume 1 wasn't; an ideal compliment. I had to see it again. Upon second viewing, my post-movie-going euphoria rivaled that of Volume 1. (For those of you who disliked this film after seeing it one time, I strongly recommend a second run through)
Tarantino knew exactly what he was doing with this project. He hooked audiences with the delicious sinful superficial pleasures of Volume 1, then smothered the same audiences in the rich textural storyline of Volume 2. Like a parent-child relationship, he knew what I needed, and gave it to me against my ignorant wishes. It was only upon the subsequent epiphany of maturity that I realized that he had my best interest in mind. God bless you Quentin!
In Volume 1, the characters and the fates that they suffered affected me very little (this includes The Bride). The film left little room for emotional attachments, as viewers were filled with adrenaline and utter disbelief from the visual gluttony that they had just experienced. Tarantino knew this, purposely squeezing out every morsel of storyline and character development in order to please the audience's lusty desires. Yet in Volume 2, my empathy for every character was overflowing, as once again Tarantino had fulfilled his goal of over stimulation, only this time in the opposite direction.
Tarantino took a great risk in creating this project and releasing it to the world. To make such a film work takes an ultimate amount of skill and passion. Luckily for us all Tarantino has both. Now that all is said and done and the entire world of Kill Bill has been revealed to us, there is nothing left to do but marvel in the brilliance of it all. We have to put it all away and move on with the memory of it in the back of our minds. But we will always remember that this is what cinema is all about. We will never forget Kill Bill.