more successful than volume 1

Rating: 8/10 (20 March 2005)

I had been fairly underwhelmed by Kill Bill Volume 1, which I thought was entertaining but shallow and rather pointless. But I still watched Volume 2, because I had only watched Volume 1 because I thought the trailer for Volume 2 looked good, and Volume 1 came to cable first.
Since these movies apparently are really just two halves of one long movie, it is surprising that the second one feels somewhat more mature. Yes, it still has juvenile things in it that only an arrested 17-year-old would put in, like Pai Mei's playing with his mustache in that ridiculous way, but overall it feels meatier. It is also less gory, which is surprising.
Much of the sense of maturity is due to David Carradine's first rate performance as Bill. It is tempting to say Bill has an undercurrent of menace, but the interesting thing is he virtually doesn't. Carradine is calm and quite likable and the sense of menace comes entirely from our knowledge of how dangerous he is. His thoughtful character makes the entire movie feel more thoughtful, although this isn't to say that it isn't usually still silly and over-the-top. There's also an excellent bit by Darryl Hannah.
The question is, if you played these two as one movie, would I rate it an 8 star movie, like volume 2 or 7 star movie like 1? I can't really decide. Much of the problem with the first one is the hollow feeling one is left with at the end, so the second half could well elevate the whole movie. On the other hand, I don't if I could sit through a 4-hour Kill Bill. It is entertaining, but it is still very much a one-note movie.