The second half of the story is much better than the first!

Rating: Null/10 (16 April 2004)

"Kill Bill: Vol. 2" is not as much a sequel to Volume 1 as it is the second half of the story. In the first half (some very predictable spoilers ahead) The Bride kills Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu) and Copperhead (Vivica A. Fox), two of the five assassins who gunned down The Bride at her wedding rehearsal. In Volume 2, she goes after the last three: Sidewinder (Michael Madsen), now a lifeless hick, California Mountain Snake (Darryl Hannah), a mysterious one-eyed fighter, and, of course, Bill (David Carradine), the leader of their former group of assassins and The Bride's former flame.
Since in Volume 1 there were no major plot developments or big twists (except for the very last scene) it left a lot - a whole lot - of room for action. And that there was, scene after scene of bloody action, and that worked for that one. In Volume 2, however, since it is the second half of the story, and the climax, all the plot starts to come together. The characters are developed fully, there are others introduced, and a few plot twists are thrown at you.
After all, Hannah, Madsen and Carradine had little-to-nothing to do in Volume 1, whereas in Volume 2 their characters bloom so naturally and gradually. Budd (Madsen) is introduced sipping bear from a coffee can, sitting at his trailer door, shrugging off that The Bride is coming to kill him and then showing up at his job to have his loser boss push him around (despite Budd being a former assassin). When The Bride comes and Budd collects her priceless sword, he sees it as a chance to turn up a new leaf. The character of Elle Driver (Hannah) shows up and ruins Budd's plans, that's how she's introduced.
But Bill, he's the best character of the film. Carradine captures the character's mannerisms perfectly. How he talks, how he moves, how he fights, how he can go from friendly to sadistic to intense to evil with just his eyes and the tone of his voice in seconds. It is an Oscar worthy performance all the way, he better nab the 2004 Best Supporting Actor.
Of course, I haven't even mentioned Uma Thurman. Her performance in Volume 1 was brutal and dynamic, but not very versatile.she wasn't able to go many places with her character, because all she did was kill. In Volume 2 we see the entire transformation of her character from an airhead blonde to a skillful killer in a flashback scene, and we get to see her character put in many emotional situations, most notably when she is buried alive. I'm glad Thurman didn't get an Oscar nomination in 2003, but it'll be a crime if she doesn't get one this year.
Quentin Tarantino. Have I said his name yet? Do I need to? I must say, his talents are much better expressed in this volume. In the first the lines were good, but not all that great, in this half they have that special, wonderful Tarantino feel that is both natural and authentic. Best Screenplay? Yes. Best Director? Definitely.
Kill Bill is the years best so far, that may change, but it would take a very good movie to deny this the title, 8.5/10.