Well... It's another Tarantino.

Rating: 6/10 (22 April 2005)

The first attempt to view Kill Bill 2 on DVD failed, as the rental store inadvertedly gave me Kill Bill. Second time around, I made sure there was a '2' on there. I settled in, a Texas Tea within my reach (how ironic) and fired up the DVD.
And well over two hours later, I'm writing this review.
Kill Bill 2 picks up where its prequel stopped: The woman who was brutally shot in the head by 'Bill' at the beginning of the first movie is still off to kill every last person who aided Bill in killing her and her soon-to-be-husband. She already killed two, and now there's three more on her list.
The first thing which immediately becomes apparent is that the tone of the movie is completely different than in its predecessor. Instead of excessive martial arts scenes with lots of gore and blood spouting all over the place, we have a much more timid, carefully laid down plot which seeks to answer all questions the first movie raised. (Well, not all, like why Hanzo made a new sword for Kiddo, a.k.a. Mommy, played by Thurman.) Combat is limited to the strictly necessary, with the Final Fight being surprisingly short but to some extent quite predictable.
Despite the good, artistic camera-work, at times gripping and evocative scenes (Kiddo being buried alive, Kiddo meeting her daughter) and good, to the point dialogue, the movie somehow failed to spark my interest. Perhaps because it is so tame in comparison to the first movie: remember, we are dealing with a *continuation* of the story. Perhaps because all the bad guys admit that Kiddo deserves her revenge: where's the fun in killing off the bad guys who admit to being bad? Okay, they certainly don't intend to put their heads on the chopping block willingly, but still. Perhaps because you know already that everyone is going to die a horrible death, and that of course, Kiddo will find Bill, and kill him. Perhaps she will die in the process, but kill him she will. Perhaps because about 1/4th into the movie, you know *how* Bill is going to die. Or, perhaps when you see Kiddo being shot in the breast by Bill's run-down bro, Budd. Excuse me, but if you can handle well over 100 well-trained swordsmen, you do *not* run into the line of fire of an ex-killer with booze for blood.
There are plenty of little surprises and twists to the tale, so it takes a while to get to the end. But because you know what the end will, has to, must be, and because the movie takes on a completely different character, it becomes somewhat slow and boring. I am sure there are plenty of people who will be lyrical about the entire thing, citing the good character interplay, sneaky twists, the stark contrast with movie one yet holding up its own without effort, and lots, lots more. You can read it in the other reviews. I can certainly understand why those things have been, are being and will be said. Problem is, I am not plenty of people. On its own, good movie, make sure you see it. As a continuation of a story of brutal revenge... No.
6 out of 10.