A good film, but self indulgent

Rating: Null/10 (30 June 2004)

Kill Bill Volume 1 was a film that proved that Tarantino's self imposed exile from film had not been a wasted. A Rip Roaring Rampage of Revenge shouted the posters for Kill Bill volume 1 and indeed it was, telling the story of the bride (Uma Thurman) who, after being shot by her former employers, awakens after being in a coma and vows revenge. This film gave a karate kick in the pants to Hollywood and the film fan with the most iconic female lead in a movie this side of Alien. But when the film finished it was not the end, merely the close of a chapter. And so Kill Bill Volume 2 beckoned, but where the former was an tightly edited piece of cinematic wonder, Kill Bill Volume 2 is a frustration, a film that has smacks of genius that are on display, yet saddled with self indulgence. Indeed self indulgence is what dominates this film from it's characters over written scenes to the films very creation, with the studio agreeing to let Tarantino split the pie into two and hoping the second portion is just as sweet. It isn't. And let me tell you why. Kill Bill Volume 2 makes several fundamental mistakes that makes it inferior to the first instalment. This is due to the films centring on characters that, with the exception of Daryl Hannah's California Mountain Snake, simply do not grab the viewers attention as Vivica Fox and Lucy Liu did in Volume 1. The character of Bud, one of the Brides assassins, is not of interest no matter how much back story is developed, feeling like someone that could have been knocked off quickly in Volume 1. Flash backs to before the bride became The Bride' manage to destroy a little more mystique that served her so well in Volume 1. Here we find out her background, how she came to be, just who was at her wedding, and even her name. These mysteries are what served the first film so well, but here all questions are answered, stripping the film of suspense. But there is still much to savour, Tarantino filming with the style of a true film auteur, with fight scenes that draw from just about every kung fu-spaghetti western film that ever hit a video shelf. Daryl Hannah steals her scenes as the one eyed assassin and Uma Thurman once more puts her heart and soul into the character of the bride. And then we come to Bill himself, so much an unseen presence in the first film and a dominating visual threat in the second, played with a cold icy charm by David Carradine, who brings the qualities that make Bill worth killing. But Tarantino milks too much from each scene giving an enforced importance to scenes that need less time and more punch. Kill Bill Volume 1 was a film that was lean and mean, and stripped of any fat. Volume 2 inherits that very fat and feels padded in places. But there is still much here to enjoy and Tarantino once more proves that even with a weaker second film, no-one kick ass quite like Quint.
3 stars. Kick ass Tarantino