Artistically done action sequel.

Rating: 8/10 (4 March 2014)

This is director Quentin Tarantino's sequel to his action epic, Kill Bill Vol. 1. The intriguing story about the vengeful "The Bride" (Uma Thurman) continues as she seeks ultimate justice against her traitor, Bill (David Carradine), leader of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad. This time, the Bride battles Bill's younger brother Budd (Michael Madsen), and Elle Driver (Darryl Hannah) in an epic tour de force to get to Bill.
This movie continues the artistry over substance method, delving into Chinese and Japanese martial arts, which are more emphasized as the Bride's intense and grueling martial arts training with the commanding and powerful master Pai Mei (Gordan Liu) are depicted in large parts of the movie. The Bride learns to wield swords, punch out wood and be swift with her hands - a spectacle to watch. Instead of a flowing plot, this movie like its prequel is divided into chapters, with each section delving into one of the Bride's mission or trainings and the ultimate battle between her and Elle Driver, which I thought were one of two best fighting scenes in both movies (the other is the battle with Gogo Yubari in the first film). The fight with Driver is extremely intense and mesmerizing to watch.
The filmmakers again captured the tension and sensitivity in each chapter, making the audience aware of the assassins' danger and the Bride's hunger for revenge. The main problem ***spoiler*** I had with this movie was that the climatic battle between the Bride and Bill was very short. You would think that after going through so much sweat, blood and tears, the final battle would be more epic and grand. Yet, Bill didn't show much of his moves or proved he was a force to be reckon with.
But, this is still one of most intense action movies I've seen, and one with the largest supply of bloody action with explicit gore. So, there is also a warning label for people attempting to watch this.
Grade B+