Pulp Fiction Vol. 2

***Pulp Fiction Vol. 2***, also referred to as ***Pulp Fiction Volume 2***, or ***Pulp Fiction 2***, is a 1994 American Neo-noir black comedy film written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Daniel Stephen; who took over after Tarantino's passing, the film was dedicated to him. The film stars a large ensemble cast led by Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Calum Kelmer. Other starring cast members include, Harvey Keitel; who is the only other returning cast member apart from Jackson, John Boyega, Danai Gurira, Liam, Hemsworth, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jessica Chastain, Jackie Chan, Arnold Shwarznegger and Al Pacino. It tells the story of Criminals in New York and a private detective trying to hunt them down.

Tarantino conceived the idea for the movie in 2011 and wanted it to be his final movie before retirement. However, once he found out about his cancer, he moved the film to his priority and penned the script. He also demanded that if he was to pass before finishing the movie, Daniel Stephen should success him as the Director and finish it, which is what happened. The movie, like the original, occurs out of chronological order and there is a great emphasis on monologuing. The movie features strong language and violence, much like the original. Stephen commented that he did not teak so much as a sentence of the script as he wanted it to be as accurate as possible to what Quentin envisioned.

*Pulp Fiction Vol. 2* won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Actor for Jackson. It also earned nominations for Johansson as Lead Actress and Kelmer for Supporting Actor. It is generally considered to have a better narrative than the original, but critics cited that it doesn't capture the same magic as the original.

*Pulp Fiction Vol.2* is widely regarded as some of Stephen's best work, with it being compared to "Paris" and "The Fabulous Five". Stephen has stated that he does not entirely consider the movie to be within his folio of work as he likes to write all of his own movies, however, he is honoured to have been chosen for the role and hopes he lived up to Tarantino's legacy. Critics cite the movie as the strongest movie of the 2030s and also one of the best movies since Stephen's masterpiece "Paris". *Entertainment Weekly* named it as the best sequel ever made and rank it as the 11th Best Movie of all time.

## Cast

* Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield:

Jules is a retired hitman from Los Angeles who has found out he is dying of cancer and wants to perform one final act as his way of saying goodbye in life. After speaking to his contacts, he is contracted to murder the president of the United States, Jean Murphy, who has apparently been funding a terrorist organisation. Tarantino decided to write in Jules' cancer in mirror to his own, initially, Daniel Stephen was reluctant to follow on with Tarantino's idea as it may be perceived in bad taste after his own death, but, Jackson convinced him to follow through with the idea.

* Scarlett Johansson as Detective Darla Skeeter:

Darla is a talented detective hired to work out who is plotting to kill the president, however, on the side, she is also set on discovering the truth about the presidents illegal activities. Tarantino wrote the role with Johansson in mind and she accepted instantly. Scarlett loved the idea of playing a detective and researched her role thoroughly. When asked about if she was to remain on board with project after Tarantino's death and Stephen taking over, she responded stating "Dan is who Quentin wanted to succeed him, not only in this movie, but in Hollywood as the gritty but stylish storyteller. So he's perfect for the role and I will stand by him through the whole production process".

* Calum Kelmer as Aaron Vindikar:

Aaron is a weapons expert and mastermind who can break in anywhere. He is key to Jules' operation and promises to help him, if he helps him break into New York's most secure bank. Tarantino wrote Aaron's character with Kelmer in mind for the role and knew that should Stephen have to take over, Kelmer would support him and help continue his vision. Calum Kelmer was honoured to have the role written for him and dedicated his performance to Tarantino and pushed for Tarantino to be given a second star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to cinema.

* Harvey Keitel as Winstone Wolfe:

A "cleaner" who aids Jules and Aaron. While conceiving the movies idea, Tarantino knew that if he wanted to include any of the original characters, Winstone would be the one. Initially, the movie was meant to feature Winstone as the lead character but Tarantino decided to move forward with closure to Juels' story instead. Keitel was honoured to return as Winstone.

* John Boyega as Marlon Kane:

A rich playboy who hires Jules to murder the President as he wants his older sister, vice-president, Deborah Kane, to be the next president after Jean is dead. He fabricates several lies years before the events of the film in order to frame Jean. Boyega was ecstatic that Stephen wanted him to star in the movie and was happy to be working Wirth Danai and Calum again. He was also very amused by his role in the movie and was a big fan of the twist.

* Danai Gurira as Deborah Kane:

The current vice-president to Jean Murphy, Deborah is completely oblivious to her brothers attempts against the presidents life and is loyal to Jean. Although, she does somewhat believe the rumours about Jean's illegal actives. Danai loved being cast as a powerful woman in the movie while also being able to have fun with the role, she stated that Stephen was the perfect director to take over from Tarantino and he is one of the most fun directors to work with.

* Liam Hemsworth as Ritchie Mills:

Marlon's best friend, and Deborah's husband, who discovers the plot against Jean's life. When he tries to inform his wife of the plot, he becomes a problem which needs to be dealt with.

* Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Raymond Murphy:

Raymond is the husband of Jean, he turns out to be Marlon's contact close to Jean which helps orchestrate the attempt on her life.

* Jessica Chastain as Jean Murphy:

Jean is the current president of the United States of America. She is a powerful leader who is very popular among the public for the positive changes she has made to the country since arriving in office 5 years prior. However, a couple of years before rumours began to circulate about her links with terrorist groups, she ignores the rumours, not wanting to add fuel to the fire. Jean is aware of the plot on her life. Chastain was initially hesitant about accepting the role in the movie as she didn't want to play a powerless woman who was killed off in a hyper sexual way. However, Stephen assured her that the role was a leading role and she was the person he had in mind for the role when discussing it with Tarantino.

* Jackie Chan as 'Marvel One'

'Marvel One' (*Real Name Unknown*) is an actor who portrays the 'leader' of a terrorist organisation which Jean is apparently involved with. He is hired by Marlon to help frame Jean as a terrorist conspirator. Chan was initially offered an expanded part but didn't want a large role, he simply wanted a role he could enjoy playing.

* Arnold Shwarznegger as Pietro Rasputin

Pietro is Jean's bodyguard who picks up on the threat on her life. He is determined not to leave her side and is unaware of her knowledge on the threat. Similar to Chan, Shwarznegger did not want a large role in the movie and enjoyed playing a smaller part in the film.

* Al Pacino as Michael Carter

Michael is a TV talk show host who keeps up with all the drama as the movie goes on. While he is not central to the plot, Stephen insists his role in the film is crucial as her provides exposition in a natural way while also keeping the audience on track as the movie jumps about wildly. Sometimes he is simply seen in the background, while at other times, he has full scenes dedicated to him. Pacino was initially hesitant to accept the role as he did not understand the point of the character, however, Kelmer insisted that Carter was a crucial part of the cinematic experience of the movie.

Many actors/actresses have cameos in the movie including Chris Hemsworth, Leonardo Di'Caprio, Eleanor Matsuura, Lupita N'yongo, Mark Hamill, John Travolta, Jeniffer Aniston, Brad Pitt, Chris Pratt, Tobey Maguire, Mahershala Ali, Jenifer Lawrence and Daniel Stephen himself. Tarantino was meant to have a cameo in the movie but it was left out as Stephen didn't want to use CGI to bring back Tarantino in bad taste.