On the whole, so to speak, or by itself, the second part of Kill Bill fits the Tarantinian psychology

Rating: 10/10 (22 August 2004)

Although, as a film buff myself, having a whole Kill Bill epic in one sitting would've been satisfying, like the first part that was split Vol. 2 works extraordinarily well. In terms of storytelling it's direct and (of course) unconventional, in style Tarantino pays homage/borrows (or depending on your point of view steals) from most of the films that stew around in his arsenal. And with dialog, in maybe a couple of moments it doesn't seem up to par, but it's not often. And the acting is in the greatest tradition of B-movie, spaghetti western, shaw-brothers, kung-fu et. all. If you look at both Kill Bills it's fascinating as a movie buff to discover things you haven't seen before (i.e. the whole blood-coated style of the climax in vol. 1) and things you recognize right away (i.e. the unmistakable songs of Ennio Morricone, who is just as creditable as Leone for Tarantino's style).
What's there to say about the story, except that it picks up where it left off? Sort of- as usual, the non-linear story aspect kicks in, and two sections of the film derail from the continuing story of revenge on the DIVAs and Bill (the squad members this time being the perfectly paced in tone and presence Michael Madsen as Budd, and Daryl Hannah's most vindictive role as Elle Driver). At first, we get a stark, black and white view of what the "Massacre at Two Pines" was like, and right away we're introduced (finally) to Bill, played by David Carradine, one of the most calm, affecting film villain performances in recent memory. The other derailment is to tell the immensely entertaining story of The Bride's training by the heavy-duty Pai Mei (Gordon Liu, in one of his performances in the whole KB saga). This could be counted as the funnest part of the film, aside from a few key moments, as the camera sweeps from medium to close up happen every thirty seconds or so.
In the acting department, as I've said, Tarantino gets a big boost- this could be counted as being one of the key performances of not only Carradine's career, but Thruman's as well. They elevate the mood of Tarantino's (sometimes) tongue-in-cheek dialog, but they're also pro's that do their best when it comes time to the showdown, with monologues that come close to being QT's most memorable (although not his best- as cool as it all sounds, it doesn't hit the Pulp Fiction marker). When it does end, the whole operatic sense of the film seems to work, and to the audience it will either be a fitting end or a disappointment. It is, at least, the most ambitious action/comedy/drama/kung-fu/western/romance film (this is referring to Vol. and both volumes together) in many a moon; it's a lot like opening up the filmmaker's skull, and getting a scrambled up dosage of his memories and references, and it works much more often than not. Oh, and how about a bit of applause to Bob Richardson and Michael Parks! A+