Cinematic Equivalent Of Finding Out That Santa Claus Does Not Exist.

Rating: 6/10 (30 April 2005)

I am sure that everyone in their young lives had that terrible moment of finding out that Father Christmas did not exist. Whether it was catching your Dad eating the cookies and milk while dressed up as St Nick, or just realizing that Playstation 2 you asked for ages still have not arrived. Either way, you felt betrayed in a way. A person you see as infallible, who brings joy and happiness in your life, seems to be nothing else but only human.
That is how I felt when I saw Kill Bill Vol 2. Six years after Jackie Brown, Tarintino brings out Kill Bill Vol 1. After watching that movie, I knew that the genius was back in business. So knowing that Kill Bill Vol 2 was about to come out in a couple of months, I felt it was going to be more of the same. More mind blowing cinematic artistry, beautiful yet violent ballet of samurai swords and kung fu. As the months have passed by, my anticipations were rocketing sky high, and I could not wait to watch the movie, to see if my expectations were fulfilled.
So April 23 come along, and my waiting is over. Yet my disappointment began Watch Out; Spoilers Ahead.
The Bride now has only three on her "to do in" list, since Copperhead was annihilated in a show down in leafy suburbia, and then the scalping of O-Ren Ishii in the climax of the previous movie. So who was next on the list? The next person to meet their maker is Bill's brother, Budd. After a few scenes, Budd seems to have the upper hand over the Bride, when she was buried alive in a coffin. During her limited time in the claustrophobic space, she begins to think about her training with the wise and knowledgeable Pai Mei. Due to this thinking, she used this inspiration to get out of a pure solid wood coffin and six feet of dirt, and seek pure retribution on Budd. After the death of Budd, via a venomous snake, Elle Driver was next to feel the wrath of the Bride. It was during this altercation between the two female assassins, it has been found out that Elle Driver had killed The Bride's Chinese mentor. Due to this bombshell, The Bride just goes ballistic on cyclopytic blonde killer and rips off her other eye and leaves her to be blind. The list whittles down to one person, who is the main character in both movies, and also the namesake in this film's title. However there is a major twist in this movie, and that is where my movie review is going to leave it.
The actors and actresses were pretty good in their roles. I thought Uma Thurman was absolutely amazing as the Bride, and I though Chia Hui Liu was good as the wise but unintentionally funny Pai Mei. I thought Micheal Madsen was pretty good as Budd, though I did want to see him play a bigger role, since I think he is such a good actor. I think that Daryl Hannah will now be more remembered as the deadly assassin rather than the dippy mermaid in Splash! It was definitely good to see the legend of Kung Fu playing a meaty role.
I thought that the casting role was amazing, however the ending and the story really disappointed me. I just thought that the ending was such a damp squib, since all that crazy kung fu actions and the decapitations of enemies, just leads to someone who simply dies with a complex karate move, which no one sees. I just found it really disappointing, however that was only the icing on the cake. How can both Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Kill Bill Vol. 2 were the same movie? I could not see how is connected at all. To be honest, it feels like it was a money making stunt done by Mr Tarintino. I just wish that the movie was immediately released straight after the first installment. It has been said that this film shows the signature note that is always scrawled upon most of Quentin movies, but I felt that this one was a bit of a let down.
In conclusion, I felt this movie was such a disappointment. I wanted to like this movie so much, however I felt betrayed by one of my favorite directors. One quick word to the director; direct better movies and stop acting in mediocre ones.