Exactly as it should be

Rating: 10/10 (23 June 2009)

After the first showed us what an efficient killer The Bride was, this provides the background that makes it all matter, and gives her a human face. If you only watch the former, you may walk away thinking that it was nothing more than a revenge flick, if an excellent one at that. You may believe that the characters were thought up for the sake of the retribution. It is, in fact, the vengeance that helps complete, and provide satisfaction, for the overall story-line. I can imagine people being disappointed by this... the first had non-stop action, and to the undistinguishing eye may have looked almost "mainstream", and perhaps they thought that Tarantino had changed his tune. This is not the same as Vol. 1, and it shouldn't be. There were incredible martial arts in that, and while what there is of that is, again, amazing, there is considerably less of it. The style of wuxia with some Western added in is still very much present. This is quite emotionally straining. I can understand if there are those who would go so far as to call it outright abusive to the audience. It definitely is brutal, and unforgettable. The non-linear time-line is impeccably well-used here. I can't compliment the editing and cinematography enough. The writing is beyond reproach. All of the dialog is marvelous. The acting is spot-on, every single person. This is immensely well-scored by Rodriguez. There is no direct sexuality, only references. The violence is bloody and gory. There is plenty of strong language in this. This has disturbing content, and many are not going to be able to stand it. The DVD comes with a making-of featurette upwards of half-hour in length, a trailer for each of the director's movies, including these two, a deleted fight scene of three and a half minutes, and an eleven minute music performance by Robert and his band, Chingon. All of them are worth the time. I recommend this to any fan of Quentin's, Uma's or of film-making. 10/10