Completing the birth of a legend

Rating: 8/10 (21 April 2004)

The second part to this film has probably been one of my most anticipated moments in cinema of the last year at least (par Shaun of the Dead) and with good reason. The first came out with such a bang that it's hard to ignore, and you can't help yourself, but to want find out what could drive The Bride to kill so many people so violently. And yes, nearly all your questions will be answered (I do say nearly though). They may not always be the answers you were hoping they were going to be, (but this is Quentin Tarantino - when has he ever been one to go with the flow?) however as the story unravels in it's infamously non-chronological order, it all comes together.
After getting a severe beating from Budd, you begin to learn more about the Bride's past with Bill and Pai Mai, and this becomes a segnificent domino effect to how the twists in the plot are going to unravel and lead you into many moments of you thinking, "ah, that's clever". A few more excellent fight scenes (especially with Elle Driver), although the death and gore count is substantually less than Volume 1. However this is made up for.
It sometimes feels that Volume 1 and 2 are completely different films given the first finished so violently and to the very maximum that you have to allow the film to slow down "before this tale of bloody vengence reaches it's climax" according to Bill. Volume 2 kind of takes on a new plot as it's more about answering questions and discovering the meaning behind what is now a legend. If you were to watch this film as a single piece, as it was originally meant to be, then nothing is going to compare to the House of Blue Leaves scene (in other words, all the action gets over and done with) but your eyes will be peeled with awe at discovering the truths. So it's a double edged sward (excuse the pun) between action and the fantastic Tarantino script lacking from the first Volume.
Performances were astounding by everyone, and this goes without saying to be Uma Thurman's greatest roll to date. David Carradine is just the greatest villan in recent film history.
A few unanswered questions, such as why did Bill initially still want The Bride dead (when Elle tries to kill her in a coma) when he admits to regretting shooting her in the first place (true, he does abort the mission, but whether he was just telling Elle to calm down for B.B.'s sake or he wanted to actually kill her when she woke up becomes more of a mystery later on).
Generally though a satisfactory ending and combined with Volume 1, this will be one of the greatest films of the decade.