Starring Tarantino and Thurman

Rating: 8/10 (17 April 2004)

*** Warning! Contains Spoilers ***
The second half of Tarantino's long-awaited martial arts revenge flick stars Uma Thurman as The Bride and David Carradine, as Bill. Looking so much like his late father John, Carradine has his first starring role in a major motion picture in years. Vol. 2 has more dialogue than its predecessor and gives much-needed background information on the characters. The best action sequence is between Thurman and Hannah in the trailer house of the recently deceased Madsen. He has died from the bite of a venomous snake which just happened to be inside a suitcase containing a million dollars in cash which Hannah brought with her to pay for a special sword of his. After he is bitten, she reads (to comic effect) from a small spiral notebook information accessed from the Internet on this snake and its deadly venom. One-eyed Hannah loses the other eye in this fight when Thurman pokes it out and subsequently drops it to the floor squishing it between her toes. The second best action sequence has Thurman shot and then buried alive. In this sequence there is a flashback of her extensive martial arts training by a master with a long white beard which he constantly runs his hand through. Thurman successfully breaks the wooden coffin she is buried in and surfaces to breathe among us once again. This woman is unstoppable. The music by 1960s spaghetti western composer Ennio Morricone is used in the film with great effect. Classic pop songs have been used brilliantly in Tarantino's other films and here we have the wonderful hit "About Her". The ultimate demise of Bill comes from The Bride's use of the five finger heart stopping technique taught to her by the master. Sure enough, after five steps Bill keels over and dies. Compared to Tarantino's best film to date "Pulp Fiction", this film lacks its originality and ultra-hip dialogue. "Jackie Brown" recreated the feel of the blackploxation films of the 1970s and here we have the same decade's Kung Fu and spaghetti westerns revived. This film is a must for Tarantino's fans. He is as much the star of the film as anyone. And no amount of praise is enough for Thurman, who gives the best female action performance since Sigourney Weaver in the "Alien" films.