Kill Bill: Volume 2 begins with a flashback to the events just
before the massacre of the Bride's wedding party. It's revealed that the
massacre actually took place during a wedding rehearsal; with the Bride wearing
her wedding gown because both she and her husband to be felt it was too
beautiful to wear only once. When the Bride goes out for a breath of fresh air,
she hears a flute playing, and sees Bill (David Carridine) sitting serenely out
on the porch of the wedding chapel. Their conversation is civil, and tinged with
regret--at least on Bill's side. The Bride is determined to leave her career of
killing behind her and start life anew in Texas. Bill comes in, amicably meets
the groom, and for a moment, it appears as if there would be no massacre after
all--until we see the Bride's former comrades in arms strolling into the front
door, all fully armed and filled with bloodlust.
One of those who helped commit the mass slaughter at the chapel is Budd,
(well-played by Michael Madsen, who was also in Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs)--who,
once the movie begins in the present day, is seated at his Texas trailer home,
listening to Bill relate about how The Bride took down O-Ren and the Crazy 88
fighters in Japan. Bill warns his estranged brother that The Bride will be
coming for him next, and pleads with Budd to let go of their old feud and accept
his help. But Budd, ever the philosophical good ole boy, turns down the aid; he
figures that if The Bride wants to pick a fight with him, she can always find
him at the local strip joint where he presently works as a bouncer. The Bride
indeed comes after Budd, and after witnessing this woman single-handedly
slaughter an entire Japanese gang in Kill Bill: Volume One, you would think that
Budd wouldn't stand a chance against her. However, while he may not be as slick
as Bill, Budd is still a sly old dog who can be just as dangerous in his own
right--as the Bride soon finds out the hard way.
If the first film pays homage to Chinese kung fu movies, then Kill Bill: Volume
Two is more of an ode to westerns, the type of hyper-intense western that
Italian director Sergio Leone and his brethren made, which are affectionately known as
"spaghetti westerns". Like the kung fu movies, revenge plots also fuel the
spaghetti westerns, and while there are no horses to be seen in Volume Two--it
is not the traditional "cowboy" western that takes place in the 1800s--it is
still very much a spaghetti western at heart. And yet despite the obvious loving
homage to the B-movies of his youth, director Quentin Tarantino never forgets
that he is telling his own story, and he does it quite well. Volume Two not only
effectively wraps up The Bride's quest for revenge that began with Volume One;
it also answers a lot of questions and "fills in the blanks" in a satisfying way.
We find out how The Bride became such a fierce warrior with an extended
flashback sequence that shows The Bride training with Pai Mei (Gordon Liu), a demanding Kung
Fu master. We also find out how Elle Driver,
Bill's remaining assassin, lost her eye. And, perhaps most importantly, we
finally discover The Bride's real name. Not only does Tarantino understand that
all good things must come to an end, he also understands that it is important to
have an ending that is fulfilling in its completeness (even while still leaving
some threads hanging for a possible third film sometime down the road). Although it
certainly has its share of bloodshed, Kill Bill: Volume Two is far more
introspective and thoughtful, with several confrontational scenes consisting of
just revelatory dialogue, and it is all the better for it.
David Carridine is a joy to watch as Bill. He could have just as easily have
slept-walked through this part by simply playing it as an older version of his
character from the classic TV series Kung Fu. Instead, he gives us a wily old
fox who is a fully-realized, well-rounded human being with many conflicting
emotions. Uma Thurman's performance is just as rock-steady as it was in Volume
One, and Daryl Hannah shines as Elle. The fight scene between The Bride and
Elle in a trailer home is a sight to behold; it is so stunning in its quick-witted
ferociousness that, in it's own way, it matches the intensity of the battle at
the House Of The Blue Leaves in Volume One, only on a more confined,
claustrophobic level.
The DVD, like Volume One, is sparse in its special features. It does contain a
deleted flashback scene where a man seeking revenge against Bill for the death
of his master confronts The Bride and Bill in a Chinese marketplace. There's
also some concert footage of the film's composer (and director of the Spy Kids
movies) Robert Rodriguez and his band performing at the Kill Bill Volume Two
premiere. And there's the standard "making of" featurette that's been tacked
onto the disc. There will be a special edition of the Kill Bill movies coming
down the pike--and there's an unconfirmed rumor that Tarantino is even considering
re-cutting both movies back into the epic that it once was--but until that special
edition comes out (in whatever form it takes) these two DVDs are the only way to savor these
enjoyable, compelling movies. --SF