Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Joe Nguyen, staff writer
May 5, 2004

Six months.

I have waited six months for the release of "Volume Two." In "Volume One," Beatrice Kiddo (Uma Thurman) tore (literally) through Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and dozens of henchmen in the very bloody, yet very entertaining feature. My only problem was that it felt like the movie abruptly ended right in the middle.

Originally, the two volumes were supposed to be one long movie, which, if you do the math, would end up being about four hours long. Four hours is just a little long for a movie.

Gordon Liu as Pei Mei in "Kill Bill: Vol. 2"

In "Volume Two," there is far less blood and the story focuses more on the relationship between Bill (David Carradine) and Beatrice. By no means does that mean there isn’t a lot of action packed in this 2 hour movie.

My favorite scene was the one with Beatrice and her training under the master Pei Mei (Gordon Liu, who coincidentally played the leader of the Crazy 88’s in Vol. 1). The scene was a throwback to old school Hong Kong action movies from the music to intense zooms. Beatrice is pushed to her body’s limit training under Pei Mei. It’s a throwback to so many movies, like "Drunken Master" and "The Prodigal Son," just to name a few.

Quentin Tarantino is a master storyteller who just holds his audience’s interest the whole time. When you think you finally understand where the story’s going, he throws you into a loop. He uses so many elements during the course of the movie. Where the first volume was more about the Japanese style, this one was about Hong Kong and the old Spaghetti Westerns.

David Carradine really shined in this movie. Until now, I’ve only seen him in “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues” because the original “Kung Fu” came out long before I was around. What he does in "Kill Bill" simply puts his other work to shame. He imbued the character of Bill with a human touch despite the character’s wicked way of life. He was a villain, but a fun villain.

Alone, each volume is a very entertaining feature, but together, Kill Bill is an absolute masterpiece. If you’re a fan of action movies, this is definitely a must-see. The grade I'm giving is for both volumes. One is incomplete without the other.

Joe gives "Kill Bill: Vol. 2":

Joe Nguyen is a staff writer for asiaXpress.com. You can reach Joe at joe@asiaxpress.com.

Back to The Reel World | Home