Even Better Than The First

Rating: 10/10 (21 March 2007)

I first saw this one on its opening day, April 16, 2004, just as I had seen Volume One on its opening day, six months earlier. The night before I saw it I refreshed my memory by viewing the first film and I was glad that I did. Both movies really should be viewed as one single film because of how much you miss if you see just one of them. However, I will say that each movie can also stand on its own as a great film.
I'll begin by saying that I enjoyed this one just a little bit more than the first. I think that has a lot to do with David Carradine. Quentin Tarantino has a knack for bringing fading stars back from obscurity and he did it again with this great actor. Carradine plays the title character and brings Bill to life so much so that you kind of find yourself a little worried about the fact that our protagonist might actually end up killing him as the title suggests.
Speaking of our hero, Uma Thurman delivers yet another powerful performance as "The Bride," a former assassin hell bent on getting revenge for what her former "co-workers" did to her on her wedding day. This chapter in the two volume series continues with The Bride's journey and leads up to a fantastic climax that only Tarantino, the best director of today's generation, could bring you.
That's not all! There's even a cat fight that may go down in history as the best one ever captured on film. As one of the members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad on The Bride's hit list, Daryl Hannah squares off against Uma Thurman in one of the tiniest spaces to hold a fight scene, a trailer home.
Even Michael Madsen gets in on the action! As Bill's brother, Budd, Madsen plays one of the more sympathetic roles of his career, even though he's a cold blooded bastard. His character becomes very developed and we see what we saw only a glimmer of during the Vivica A. Fox sequence in the first: someone like us. We all know that Madsen is just another bad guy, but he shows us that those "bad guys" are just regular people trying to live in a world that doesn't want them.
Of course, we can't forget about Pai Mei. The most fearsome martial arts expert is played superbly in this film by Gordon Liu. Although he speaks only Mandarin in the film, his intimidating looks and fiery delivery give us another great supporting performance in a movie that I'll stay with any time I happen to catch it on television. I'm sure that you would do the same.
Yes, this film is a bloody good conclusion to the Kill Bill saga and, if you've seen the first, you definitely need to see this one to find out what happens and how it goes down. I recommend this to anyone and everyone because it's one of the best films of this decade.