Bill gets killed, uma's looming, madsen is got fat-sen and darryl hannah is definitely not hot anymore

Rating: 10/10 (11 August 2004)

As is the case with most directors whose careers, albeit short or long, have seen sharp peaks and abysmal valleys, Tarantino has made his definitive statement with a film that is a far cry in quality from his previous accomplishments. Undoubtedly, his two best films were the first two: PF and RD. Though KB(s 1 'n 2) may be (2) big step(s) (for moviekind) up from the disappointment (yeah, I said it) of the purportedly emotionally mature (*ha*) "Jackie Brown", it's laughable to me that similar qualities have been ascribed to the KB film. This movie is terrific...don't get me wrong! It's unabashedly fun fun fun entertainment...but it's campy..."what is that supposed to mean?" That a little polish and esoteric nods/bites here or there can pass off for style, and the true charm of this movie is the moving, BAFTA-nominated performance of the "great" actress Uma Thurman? Me thinks not. Her spirited performance in "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" did little to assuage the general public's belief that she is selective in her film appearances by choice. She's not F. Murray Abraham, or anything - she's Mia Wallace. KB is a comic-book movie, and its actors are about as under-the-top as Alfred Molina in Spider-Man 2 (a bad, but fitting performance for the definitive comic book movie.) After all, Kill Bill, Vol. 2 might just be the definitive comic book movie to never have been based on a comic book. It's got all the fixins. Tarantino is an American filmmaker - his "knowledge" of the techniques utilized in foreign films is not nearly as extensive as the number of films he has watched. Upon seeing his work, a neophyte might make such observations. He loves the moving image. The "neat", "cool-looking" things he can do with a camera, or in post-production. The camera eye, studying arbitrary qualities of a room. He likes talking heads - he likes to hear himself pontificate endlessly about popular culture. He seems to have an obsession with feet. In KB, Vol. 2, he has fallen into self-parody, but it's brilliant. Tarantino has come into his own: he can use the aforementioned bastardized strains of Eurasian film-philosophy to create a moving comic book, tongue-in-cheek references to the film-styles he loves (simply because, after seeing all of his directorial efforts, it seems that Tarantino's sole wish as a filmmaker is to keep alive dead styles of film-making) and, for once, a film that is so inconsistent in style, that it functions as a continuous, running joke completely detached from the proceedings of the film. Of course, part of the reason we love Tarantino so much is that he is the frontrunner of his whole style over substance movement..."it's a good thing." It's a little disconcerting to read a Tarantino script that is devoid of humor. There are far too many straight lines in KB2 (however, not as many as in KB1 - however nothing as funny as: "I beseech you on behalf of my daughter.") The acting is another problem. Uma Thurman, as I mentioned before, gets by on attitude on her physical presence. Michael Madsen is a convincing sadistic hick - but I think I liked him more as a sadistic gangster in Reservoir Dogs...of course, Tarantino also has the unique distinction of being an anomaly of sorts when it comes to working with actors. On the one hand: outside of their work with Tarantino, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Bridget Fonda, Harvey Keitel, [Madsen], Chris Penn and Pam Grier (and god only knows who else) have delivered nothing but lame-as-lame could ever hope or wish to be perfunct performances with other directors at the helm. One the other hand: he managed to direct Robert DeNiro (one of the greatest actors of all time) to a performance that would rank amongst his 1990s worst. Darryl Hannah is definitely not sexy anymore and (judging by this performance) was never a good actor. Her best performance was, most likely, in Blade Runner (where she plays a robot.) Carradine steals every scene he's in with his creepy presence and menacing lisp. This is an exciting, scary, high-octane adventure/revenge flick with a genuinely crowd-pleasing ending and exploding eyeballs. 'Nuff said. C