Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)

This reviewer was decidely unimpressed with Kill Bill Vol.1 to the tune of a D. In fact, I had decided not to bother with part two, which I'd anyway heard was the weaker of the two. I think my colleague will protest, but I couldn't disagree more.

Vol. 2 is by far the superior of the two films. The characters are better and, more importantly, better developed, it feels like there's a proper story, with some interesting sidelines, and it isn't just a pointless bloody mess (in both senses of the term). In fact, there is very little in the way of the blood and gore which so defined, and in my view overwhelmed, the first movie.

The Bride feels like a more flesh and blood character than in the first movie, (the excellent) Daryl Hannah's Elle Driver is by far the best of the villainesses, and she gets proper screen time here, and Michael Madsen is as entertaining as he always is. The real star of the show, however, is Bill, played majestically, thoughtfully and deeply by David Carradine. He, like Hannah, is given far more screen time here and the result is a full-bodied, mature, character. The Bride's colourful (to say the least) and sadistic martial arts teacher, Pai Mei (pictured above), played with real verve and chemistry by Chia Hui Liu, is also highly deserving of a mention in dispatches. Apparently the character Pai Mei (which means "White eyebrow") appeared in numerous kung fu films in the 1970's and 1980's, they might well be worth seeing for Pai Mei alone!

It's not a perfect film by any means. The ending is ropey and you can see it coming a mile off and a few aspects and moments invite you to suspend belief just a little too much for my liking (though there are less of them than in vol. 1). That said, there are some excellent scenes (I could watch the Bride and Bill on the porch of the church over and over again - it would win scene of 2004 if we had such a list - and it takes on even more sophistication after you've seen Vol.2's last reel) and it by far surpasses the over-indulgent, shallow and heartless original. This, on the other hand, has flesh, it has heart, and it has soul.

B