Director:
Quentin Tarantino

Cast:
Uma Thurman
David Carridine
Daryl Hannah
Gordon Liu

Official URL:

http://www.kill-bill.com

Country: USA
Rating: R
Studio Name: Columbia Pictures
Running Time: 2 hr 10 mins
Release Date: April 16, 2004

Critics's Rating:
(3 1/2 Reels) 

April 16, 2004

By Veronica Mixon

All questions will be answered. Quentin Tarantino’s continuation of the Bride’s saga in Kill Bill Volume 2 is so good, so engrossing that you could see it before the renting the new DVD release of Kill Bill Volume 1.

What is known is this: the Bride nicknamed Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman) has survived a horrific attack at a small Texas wedding chapel that resulted in the murder of her fiancé, friends, the minister and his wife and a musician. She has killed two of the assassins (Lucy Liu and Vivica A. Fox) in Kill Bill Volume 1 and she is intent on killing her former lover Bill (David Carridine). Kill Bill Volume 2 opens in black & white flashback, we learn that Beatrix Kiddo abruptly left her mentor and lover Bill after learning that she was pregnant. We also learn about her expert training to be an assassin with an old Japanese master, Pai Mei (Gordon Liu). Meanwhile, Bill has asked his brother, Budd (Michael Malden) for help but he feels that Beatrix Kiddo has a right to revenge. Nevertheless, that doesn’t stop him from dishing out a nearly lethal punishment which he later brags about to a co-conspirator, Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah).

What truly astonishing is the sleek stylish execution of cruelty and violence that is Quentin Tarantino’s signature. In the tone and look of the film, he adapts the beloved style of movies that he loved as a youngster – the black and white of film noir, the gritty kung fu fighting of Hong Kong action genre and the vibrant colors of early 60s dramas. Thurman and Carridine’s meeting of the bare porch of the Texas chapel is reminiscent of dusty loneliness of The Last Picture Show. The claustrophobic fight scenes between Uma and Daryl in an old trailer make the two blond beauties look like flying squirrels as they kick each others asses in the most vicious cat fight ever filmed.

What makes this so extraordinary are the surprises that Quentin Tarantino created. You are constantly surprised. The kung fu fighting is more intimate, intense and superbly crafted. After her nearly fatal encounter with Bill’s stylish assassins, we cheer Uma’s expertise, strength and audacity. She is the natural spawn of Emma Peale (a role that she’s played on the big screen) and Ripley. When she tells Daryl Hannah, “You don’t have a future, bitch!” the audience screamed with delight! Uma is Tarantino’s fantasy warrior and the audience accepts her. She’s every wronged woman and every betrayed man when her rage explodes! She deserves to be a star. Uma is dazzling in Kill Bill Volume 2!

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