whole lot of talking going on

Rating: Null/10 (15 April 2004)

I saw Kill Bill Vol 2 in a free screening and I don't believe it compares favorably with the first film. Undoubtedly, you will envision a much different film before seeing it. First off, there are long stretches of dialogue with "uncomfortable silences" that signify things in the end but while viewing them become tedious. The famous "death list" does not make it on the screen and much is made of Bill's relationship with the Bride. A great part of the first film is the story of O-Ren Ishii told through animation which gives you an understanding of the character. Unfortunately, no information is given about the other assassins except what they are doing now. You hardly care about Michael Madsen or Daryl Hannah because you know very little about them, almost as if they are villains from central casting. The film goes on too long and you will be surprised to know that 75 minutes in, almost nothing has occurred. In Vol 1, Bill is envisioned as a darker, shadowy figure, where in the second, he is almost playful and tends to wax poetic too often. Uma Thurman carries the film and brings it all together, but it is hard to carry off with little support from the other actors. When the credits rolled and the characters are shown in snippets of film, the best response easily goes to those from the first film. Also, the music which is usually memorable from Tarantino films is indistinguished. It was, however, a good idea to break these into two films as they are completely different. If you were to watch it all together, the buzz from the first film would definitely wear off during the second half. Review: 6 out of 10