Tarantino still hasn't a lot to say in Kill Bill 2, but he says it with such high style, you have to sit up and take notice.
As outstanding as Thurman is, however, this is David Carradine's movie. In Volume 1 he was hardly seen; in Volume 2 he is the center of attention. And what a center he is. He dominates the proceedings as few actors can. Villain or no, or maybe because of it, his presence is always felt, even when he's not on the screen. When he is in a frame, it's difficult even for Ms. Thurman to keep up.
I always like Michael Madsen, and in Volume 2 he plays the most sympathetic character in the story, and plays it notably well. His character is resigned to the Bride's coming to get him, but it doesn't mean he's not prepared. Daryl Hannah hasn't much of a chance to show her thespian abilities in the film and was more probably chosen for the part because of her resemblance to Ms. Thurman, a kind of mirror image of the starring actress. Additionally, two actors from Volume 1 are brought back for different roles in Volume 2, also acting as bookends or mirrors. Gordon Liu, who played Johnny Mo the first time around, here plays Pei Mei, the Bride's venerable kung-fu master, a weird-looking old gent who's practically superhuman. More important, and somewhat unexpectedly, is Michael Parks, who played Sheriff Earl McGraw in Volume 1, here playing Estabon Vihaio, an elderly cavalier and friend of Bill, who enjoys one of the quietest yet most tension-filled scenes in the movie. Also look for a cameo from Samuel L. Jackson as an organist at the wedding chapel. You'll recognize him by his voice.
Viewers will have their own favorite scenes, but for me four segments stand out among many good ones (and a couple of empty fillers). The scene I cited before with Vihaio is suspenseful. A sequence about being buried alive is truly terrifying and involves another reference to Poe ("The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Premature Burial"). The Bride's fight-to-the-finish with Elle Drive is about as thrilling a battle as you'll find in any movie, capped by a resolution you'll not soon forget. And the Bride's climactic confrontation with Bill will come as both a surprise and a relief.
Without a doubt, "Kill Bill 2" is over the top, but not so excessively over the top as "Kill Bill 1." There continue to be things in Volume 2 that are so outlandish as to make one smile, things like "the five-point palm exploding heart technique"; or a split screen showing two people kicking each other simultaneously; or what has to be one of the longest sets of closing-credits in the history of motion pictures, with a touch of noir thrown in. Yet almost everything in the picture works. I had fun with it.
Video:
The movie is again presented in an anamorphic widescreen ratio measuring approximately 2.15:1 across a normal television. When the color kicks in after the black-and-white prologue, it's like a sudden meteor flash, almost blinding in its brilliance. However, once accustomed to the colors, you may find them not exactly natural but too bright for reality. Still, this is not meant to be a realistic story but a comic-book adventure, so the colors do their job. The screen is free of grain, halos, shimmering lines, or other digital artifacts. Definition is fine, as is inner detail, so I'd say the DVD transfer is about as successful as it can be.
Audio:
The audio is again available in either Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 Surround. In DD 5.1 the sound displays some productive rear-channel effects, especially evident in the burial scene, and a fair amount of front-channel stereo spread. The deepest bass could be stronger, but the mid bass vibrates the room, and the transient impact is quite impressive. Audio fans will not be disappointed.
Extras:
As with the first volume, there aren't a lot of extras on "Kill Bill 2." The primary bonus is a twenty-six-minute documentary, "The Making of Kill Bill: Volume Two," with comments from the director, producer, and stars. Then, there is an eleven-minute music video, a "Chingon" performance made live at the première of "Kill Bill 2." Finally, there are nineteen chapter selections and a three-minute deleted scene. I particularly liked the deleted scene, and while I think the film is already too long, I wished Tarantino had replaced something else with it. Oh, well. The spoken language options are English and French, with subtitles in Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, plus English captions for the hearing impaired.
As I said in my previous review, I would not discount the possibility of Miramax/Buena Vista issuing a two or three-disc special edition with more bells and whistles sometime in the future. We'll have to wait and see.
Parting Thoughts:
I recognize that many readers will vehemently disagree with this next suggestion, but I couldn't help thinking after watching "Kill Bill 1 and 2" that this pair of good-to-very-good two-hour movies could be combined and edited into one terrific three-hour movie. Whether such a thing happens is another wait-and-see. In the meantime, I liked "Kill Bill 2" better than its predecessor, and even people who haven't seen the first film should enjoy the second. Tarantino still hasn't a lot to say in "Kill Bill 2," but he says it with such high style, you have to sit up and take notice.
I always like Michael Madsen, and in Volume 2 he plays the most sympathetic character in the story, and plays it notably well. His character is resigned to the Bride's coming to get him, but it doesn't mean he's not prepared. Daryl Hannah hasn't much of a chance to show her thespian abilities in the film and was more probably chosen for the part because of her resemblance to Ms. Thurman, a kind of mirror image of the starring actress. Additionally, two actors from Volume 1 are brought back for different roles in Volume 2, also acting as bookends or mirrors. Gordon Liu, who played Johnny Mo the first time around, here plays Pei Mei, the Bride's venerable kung-fu master, a weird-looking old gent who's practically superhuman. More important, and somewhat unexpectedly, is Michael Parks, who played Sheriff Earl McGraw in Volume 1, here playing Estabon Vihaio, an elderly cavalier and friend of Bill, who enjoys one of the quietest yet most tension-filled scenes in the movie. Also look for a cameo from Samuel L. Jackson as an organist at the wedding chapel. You'll recognize him by his voice.
Viewers will have their own favorite scenes, but for me four segments stand out among many good ones (and a couple of empty fillers). The scene I cited before with Vihaio is suspenseful. A sequence about being buried alive is truly terrifying and involves another reference to Poe ("The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Premature Burial"). The Bride's fight-to-the-finish with Elle Drive is about as thrilling a battle as you'll find in any movie, capped by a resolution you'll not soon forget. And the Bride's climactic confrontation with Bill will come as both a surprise and a relief.
Without a doubt, "Kill Bill 2" is over the top, but not so excessively over the top as "Kill Bill 1." There continue to be things in Volume 2 that are so outlandish as to make one smile, things like "the five-point palm exploding heart technique"; or a split screen showing two people kicking each other simultaneously; or what has to be one of the longest sets of closing-credits in the history of motion pictures, with a touch of noir thrown in. Yet almost everything in the picture works. I had fun with it.
Video:
The movie is again presented in an anamorphic widescreen ratio measuring approximately 2.15:1 across a normal television. When the color kicks in after the black-and-white prologue, it's like a sudden meteor flash, almost blinding in its brilliance. However, once accustomed to the colors, you may find them not exactly natural but too bright for reality. Still, this is not meant to be a realistic story but a comic-book adventure, so the colors do their job. The screen is free of grain, halos, shimmering lines, or other digital artifacts. Definition is fine, as is inner detail, so I'd say the DVD transfer is about as successful as it can be.
Audio:
The audio is again available in either Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 Surround. In DD 5.1 the sound displays some productive rear-channel effects, especially evident in the burial scene, and a fair amount of front-channel stereo spread. The deepest bass could be stronger, but the mid bass vibrates the room, and the transient impact is quite impressive. Audio fans will not be disappointed.
Extras:
As with the first volume, there aren't a lot of extras on "Kill Bill 2." The primary bonus is a twenty-six-minute documentary, "The Making of Kill Bill: Volume Two," with comments from the director, producer, and stars. Then, there is an eleven-minute music video, a "Chingon" performance made live at the première of "Kill Bill 2." Finally, there are nineteen chapter selections and a three-minute deleted scene. I particularly liked the deleted scene, and while I think the film is already too long, I wished Tarantino had replaced something else with it. Oh, well. The spoken language options are English and French, with subtitles in Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, plus English captions for the hearing impaired.
As I said in my previous review, I would not discount the possibility of Miramax/Buena Vista issuing a two or three-disc special edition with more bells and whistles sometime in the future. We'll have to wait and see.
Parting Thoughts:
I recognize that many readers will vehemently disagree with this next suggestion, but I couldn't help thinking after watching "Kill Bill 1 and 2" that this pair of good-to-very-good two-hour movies could be combined and edited into one terrific three-hour movie. Whether such a thing happens is another wait-and-see. In the meantime, I liked "Kill Bill 2" better than its predecessor, and even people who haven't seen the first film should enjoy the second. Tarantino still hasn't a lot to say in "Kill Bill 2," but he says it with such high style, you have to sit up and take notice.
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[release]12284[/release]