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Craig Younkin
Movie Review
Kill Bill: Volume 2
By Gareth Von Kallenbach Published April 16, 2004
US Release: April 16, 2004
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman , David Carradine , Daryl Hannah , Michael Madsen
R for violence, language and brief drug use.
Running Time: 137 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $66,372,000
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman , David Carradine , Daryl Hannah , Michael Madsen
R for violence, language and brief drug use.
Running Time: 137 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $66,372,000
C+
While the film disappoints, it is still decent entertainment.
In Quentin Tarantino?s ?Kill Bill: Volume 1,? audiences were introduced to Black Mamba (Uma Thurman), a former assassin who is attacked and left for dead by her fellow employees on her wedding day. She awakens from a coma four years later with a steel plate in her head and a score to settle. After escaping from the hospital, Black Mamba sets off for Okinawa to mentor under a sword maker and prepare her body for revenge. With the aid of a specially made sword, Mamba sets out to locate and kill her former cohorts, especially her boss Bill (David Carridine) who put a bullet in her head on her wedding day.
Part two opens after the events of the original, with Black Mamba on her way to eliminate the next two people on her list, then working her way to Bill. Unlike the previous installment, this volume is much lighter on action and heavier on flashbacks and characterizations. While this is good for the story, the approach does tend to drag the story out, as there are moments that serve little purpose other than to establish what has already been told. There are scenes like this that detract from the story, as there are only roughly twenty minutes of action and nothing near the quality of that in the first.
The saving grace of ?Volume 2? is Carradine; Tarantino makes Bill a monster and yet he is a complex and multi-dimensional man capable of charm, charisma, and kindness, but can also be brutally cold and deadly. Like a serpent, you're captivated by him yet wonder when and where he will strike.
The final confrontation of the film is sadly very underwhelming, and after the classic finale to part one, it is sure to be a letdown to most viewers. Carradine gives a fantastic performance in the final segments but much of the lead-up ended up on the editing room floor as I learned in a recent interview with the star. While ?Volume 2? fails to match the intensity and action of part one, it is still an interesting film filled with the great characters and dialogue that sets Tarantino apart from his peers. That being said, while the film disappoints, it is still decent entertainment.
Part two opens after the events of the original, with Black Mamba on her way to eliminate the next two people on her list, then working her way to Bill. Unlike the previous installment, this volume is much lighter on action and heavier on flashbacks and characterizations. While this is good for the story, the approach does tend to drag the story out, as there are moments that serve little purpose other than to establish what has already been told. There are scenes like this that detract from the story, as there are only roughly twenty minutes of action and nothing near the quality of that in the first.
The saving grace of ?Volume 2? is Carradine; Tarantino makes Bill a monster and yet he is a complex and multi-dimensional man capable of charm, charisma, and kindness, but can also be brutally cold and deadly. Like a serpent, you're captivated by him yet wonder when and where he will strike.
The final confrontation of the film is sadly very underwhelming, and after the classic finale to part one, it is sure to be a letdown to most viewers. Carradine gives a fantastic performance in the final segments but much of the lead-up ended up on the editing room floor as I learned in a recent interview with the star. While ?Volume 2? fails to match the intensity and action of part one, it is still an interesting film filled with the great characters and dialogue that sets Tarantino apart from his peers. That being said, while the film disappoints, it is still decent entertainment.
Gareth's Grade: C+
Gareth's Overall Grading: 50 graded movies
| A | 6.0% | |
| B | 44.0% | |
| C | 40.0% | |
| D | 10.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
'Kill Bill 2' Articles
- Jennifer's review A
April 20, 2004 Ultra-cool and packed with emotion, the concluding half to Tarantino?s fourth film has a kind of magic that keeps you thinking about it long after it has ended. -- Jennifer Alpeche - Craig's review B+
April 20, 2004 Vol. 2 does so many things right that it's almost a shame that Tarantino didn't take out the more useless material. -- Craig Younkin - Crowd Report: "Kill Bill Vol. 2"
April 17, 2004 -- Lee Tistaert - Friday Box Office Analysis (4/16)
April 17, 2004 -- Lee Tistaert - Lee's review B+
April 6, 2004 Regardless of any complaints with this volume, fans should be able to say that what we have witnessed over the last six months has been a true classic experience. -- Lee Tistaert
