Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (M-18)
Opens Apr 22
Cast: Uma Thurman, David Carradine,
Daryl Hannah
Director: Quentin Tarantino
A Time to Kill
Almost anything Quentin Tarantino touches is a success
(whether it's producing, directing, soundtrack producing, or even being a guest
judge on American Idol).
Since writing and directing 1992's Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino has garnered the respect of the hard-to-please film critics. In Pulp Fiction, he pioneered the introduction of pop culture into films much to the appreciation of the MTV-generation. And in Kill Bill, he re-popularised Japanese sword fights, Shaw Brothers-styled martial arts filmmaking, and the fusion of East-West cultures.
The much-awaited release of Kill Bill: Vol. 2 continues from where Kill Bill: Vol.1 left off. If you didn't watch Vol. 1, you'd somehow still get the premise of what Kill Bill is about from its title.
Vol. 2 begins with a flashback of the wedding rehearsal massacre that triggered The Bride's (Uma Thurman) revenge. This is also the 1st time that we get to see Bill (David Carradine), who resembles Clint Eastwood in Western films with the coolness he exudes using his gun and his smooth talk. After dispatching Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and her Crazy 88s bodyguards, next on her hit list is Budd (Michael Madsen), Bill's younger brother. Budd is a greasy-looking bouncer at a strip-joint who goes back to his caravan after being fired by his boss for his poor work ethic. Never did he know (or did he?) that the Bride was waiting for him with her Hattori Hanzo sword.
Let's not forget the cunning Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), who almost killed the Bride when she was in a coma in the hospital. This patch-wearing assassin gives The Bride the catfight of her life in a fight sequence that involves bodies flying through walls and heads being flushed in the toilet bowl.
Just when you thought that Tarantino has run out of surprises, the appearance of Pai Mei (aka White Eyebrows) who is a well-known character in many of the Shaw Brothers films, becomes the master of the Bride, teaching her martial arts and even perhaps the much-talked about Five-Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique. Chinese film legend Gordon Liu is the only actor who gets to appear in both volumes as different characters. In Vol. 1, he's O-Ren Ishii's henchman Johnny Mo and in Vol. 2 he's the sadistic white-haired martial arts expert, Pai Mei in ridiculous long black and white robes and a grey-white beard that reaches his chest.
The reason that Kill Bill is split into 2 volumes besides the obvious money-making reason is that both are really different films. Vol. 1 was filled with action and had characters that didn't have an identity but in Vol. 2 you begin to understand the brilliance of Tarantino's writing.
The story begins to sink in and The Bride is not only seen as a "natural born killer" (aka Black Mamba) but as a lover and a mother. Her name is finally revealed, a symbol of how she has regained her identity and sense of living again after the coma. You begin to understand The Bride's reasons for revenge and not just for the sake of it, which was the disappointing basis for Vol. 1. Tarantino's quirky dialogues finally resurface in this one, much to my relief, as I feared Tarantino's writing magic had died after Jackie Brown.
An anime to the prequel of Kill Bill is in the pipeline just like the one seen in Vol.1 with O-Ren Ishii's story. But this time the prequel is to be centered around Bill. The story will also involve the Japanese sword-maker Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba), Bill's trainer Pai Mei and Esteban Vihaio (Michael Parks), the Mexican pimp who raised Bill.
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 brings an end to the 4-hour adventure of The Bride. Just as The Return of the King completes The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Vol. 2 sums up Tarantino's career thus far - one that's nothing short of ingenious.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars