Ties everything up very slickly

Rating: Null/10 (4 September 2004)

Although most people seem to rate Volume 2 as the lesser film, there is no way QT could have come out with a blood-splattered, ultra-violent exact replica of Volume 1 - what would have been the point? Instead what we get is a more thoughtful film, albeit with the odd eyeball-plucking here and there.
SPOILERS
The body count in Volume 2 drops substantially from the first (from 41 down to 3) which is a very welcome addition really - there's just no need for a repeat of the Crazy 88 scene at all. What we DO get however are some top-notch action scenes with, dare I say it, a little more class - the eye plucking being a particular highlight, the Black Mamba biting and the subsequent speech by Elle also a standout, along with The Bride being buried alive - admittedly done quite a few times before in other films, but what hasn't in a QT film?
A few points to consider - just where did the Black Mamba go in the 15 minute interlude between biting Budd and showing up near the end of that scene?, why make the subtitles almost unreadable? (copying off other films with yellow text, I presume), and just what purpose did the Mexican pimp and his messed up prostitute serve to the film?
But showing 'Shogun Assassin' to a 4-year-old, and killing her father in the back garden only 20 metres from her bedroom, certainly qualifies as dark humour in my book. Top stuff.
I'm sure there are a few people out there who do prefer Volume 2 to Volume 1 - me included.