Not As Much Fun as the First One

Rating: 7/10 (7 June 2012)

Quentin Tarantino has got talent, but he whipped up so much frenzy with "Kill Bill, Volume 1" that there was no way that he live up to what he had started in "Kill Bill, Volume 2." "Kill Bill, Vol. 1" has more artistic merit that the second half. For instance, Tarantino never showed Bill in a full shot in the first half. Obviously, the "Pulp Fiction" director was treating his chief villain like the early Blofeld in the James Bond thrillers that didn't show the villain until "You Only Live Twice." In the first half of "Kill Bill," our heroine--Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman)survives an attempt on her life. We know that the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad turns out for her wedding rehearsal and mowed down everybody in a barrage of gunfire. However, this singular event was never shown. The discretion that Tarantino exercised in "Bill 1" distinguishes it from the lack of discretion that he depicted in the follow-up. Indeed, he doesn't show this homicidal quartet actually perforating everybody in the chapel. Nevertheless, aside from showing the scene as a necessity, this is basically the only thing that he does that doesn't follow the chronology.
"Kill Bill, Volume 1" surpasses "Kill Bill, Volume 2" because the demise of O-Ren Ishii and Vernita Green are more interesting than the deaths of Budd, Elle Driver, and Bill. Nothing in this half compares with the outrageous swordplay at the House of Blue Leaves. Furthermore, none of the villains in the second half are as memorable as O-Ren. You can almost share of sympathetic tear for O-Ren because she worked up way up to a position of prominence in the Tokyo underworld. Budd and Elle Driver qualify as sadistic louts. The Bride (Uma Thurman) doesn't even kill Budd. Indeed, Elle Driver kills him when she stashes a venomous black mamba in a red piece of luggage that contains a million dollars in $100 dollar bills.
The fight scene in "Kill Bill 2" is a reversal of the fight scene in "Kill Bill 1." Instead of staging an over-the-top combat sequence in a spacious restaurant, Tarantino choreographs a demolition scene fracas in a trailer. While it is imaginative, it seems more claustrophobic and exciting. Unlike O-Ren, neither Budd nor Elle Driver have anything approaching a back-story. He is a drunk and she is a sadistic bitch. The rewards of "Kill Bill 2" are the scenes at Pei Mei's place where The Bride learns how to punch her way through wood as well as a special punch that later enables her to kill Bill. Compared with its predecessor, "Kill Bill 2" looks and sounds more like a Tarantino film because the dialogue sounds more like "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction." Unfortunately, again, the characters are not as interesting. You never really hate Bill who comes off as more charismatic. Nevertheless, "Kill Bill 2" is worth watching and studying for its narrative structure of setting up things and paying them off. The homages abound and Tarantino indulges more in his penchant for making references to other movies.