Year of Release: 2004
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen, Julie Dreyfus, Perla Haney-Jardine, Gordon Liu, Michael Bowen, Michael Parks, James Parks, Vivica A. Fox, Lucy Liu, Bo Svenson, Jeannie Epper, Sonny Chiba, Christopher Allen Nelson, Larry Bishop, Laura Cayouette, Clark Middleton, Samuel L. Jackson
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 8
Synopsis and Review:
After the (nearly) unanimous praise and commercial success for "Kill Bill Vol. 1", Quentin Tarantino swiftly followed that chapter with the closing one for the narrative of the bride. The film picks up right where the first chapter ended, with The Bride having dealt with Vernita Green and O-Ren Ishii, is now on the trail of Budd, Elle Driver and Bill. All these nefarious characters are now well aware of her intentions, and have prepared for her appearance. As The Bride tackles Budd, she finds herself in a tough spot, as he turns the tables on her, and she has to figure out how to escape a possibly deadly bind he leaves her on. Elle in the meantime has her own agenda, sacrifices Budd for it, allowing for The Bride's vengeance path to become an easier one. As The Bride overcomes Elle after a particularly vicious fight, she sets her path to Bill, who is expecting her and also has a surprise she didn't expect. That surprise turns her life completely around, adding more meaning to the vengeance she originally set forth.
If "Kill Bill Vol. 1" was an homage to martial arts films, being simultaneously bloody and almost poetic, the sequel embarks on a slightly different path, drawing much inspiration from Western Spaghetti, and allowing for more of the characters background and journey to be fully canvased. Tarantino allows for the story of The Bride to be further flushed out, providing her with a great background, with insights to where she came from, her training, and how that shaped who she is. The same way for Bill, the main antagonist, there's more of an understanding of who the character is, and how that eventually shapes their final confrontation. It's a film not as stylized as Vol. 1, but no less engaging and beautifully rendered through the lens of Robert Richardson. The journey that is uncovered in this volume, and not only one of revenge, but one of redemption, of carving a new path in life. Understanding one's past, how it shapes the journey, without ultimately defining it. The richness of the script also finds a good match in the talented cast bringing these characters to life, particularly Uma Thurman, who has never been better, going from avenging angel, to a mother who has discovered a part of her life she though was lost forever. She has plenty of great support in iconic turns from David Carradine, as the complex Bill, Daryl Hannah in top form as the vicious Elle, and of course Michael Madsen, Lucy Liu, not forgetting the charismatic duo of Gordon Liu and Sonny Chiba. It's a film that expands on the premise of the first volume, one that adds nuance, humor, and explosions of violence very typical of this director. A great film always worth revisiting.
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