Review
KILL BILL VOL. 2
Starring Uma Thurman, David Carradine and Michael Madsen
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Opens Friday April 16
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How does one judge Kill Bill Vol. 2? There are so many criteria. Does it stand on its own? Is it an appropriate conclusion to Kill Bill? Is it successful when compared to the rest of director Quentin Tarantino’s work? Thankfully the answer is yes on all counts, and while the film answers all the questions posed in Vol. 1 the fact that this sequel exists at all raises a different set of questions altogether.
It’s no secret now that Tarantino’s violent revenge drama is an epic the likes of which is not often seen in modern cinema. So great was the film’s scope that it was decided – for the good of the audience – that the film be split into two more easily digestible parts. Now instead of four hours of the nameless bride, played with unprecedented skill by Uma Thurman, exacting her revenge on the title character and his henchmen that left her for dead, it has been spread over six months. Given the success of The Lord of The Rings series, it has been established that people will sit still for a long movie, but the question remains – is Kill Bill better for being split so cleanly in two?
If the first half of the story put Thurman’s bride through the physical wringer (with maces, knives and samurai swords) then Vol. 2 is her emotional obstacle course. In truth, the body count drops considerably, but this doesn’t make the film any less compelling. As Thurman’s character comes closer to reaching her goal, the stakes get higher and Tarantino further invests us in her cause by offering more of her back story.
You can’t say that the film is a stylistic departure from the first half, because Vol. 1 was a melting pot of cinematic technique. Tarantino, with cinematographer Robert Richardson, once again employs multiple film stocks and frame sizes. This time though, they reference more directly the contrast heavy grain of the classic kung fu movies on which Tarantino so obviously draws his inspiration. At the same time they continue to draw the parallel between the cowboy and the samurai that they did in Vol. 1. The stark black-and-white cinematography of certain sequences calls to mind not only the work of director Akira Kurosawa, but the films of Western auteur John Ford. In fact Tarantino swipes Ford’s classic silhouette of John Wayne from The Searchers, transposing it into black-and-white with Thurman. Even Daryl Hannah, as the ice-cold assassin Elle Driver, with her eye patch bears more than a passing resemblance to Ford himself.
In that sense the film is a true success. Tarantino’s tenure as film geek and video clerk ensures that he is not only familiar with the styles, but able to blend them seamlessly together. In fact, with the use of a hyper-stylized introductory monologue, reminiscent of ‘40s noir, he effortlessly sets this film up as its own entity.
Talk of technique aside, Kill Bill Vol. 2 is still worthwhile. By trading in the over-the-top visceral bloodbath of the first half for an emotional connection, the film has a resonance that might not be expected from a kick-ass revenge flick. The film holds a few surprises – not in clichéd twists, but in unexpected plot developments that make the film more compelling. While Vol. 1 was a mind-blowing rollercoaster, Vol. 2 offers a feeling of satisfaction rather than awe and so closes the book on this chapter of Tarantino’s career quite elegantly. |
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