Kill Bill - Volume Two
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.10 You Save: $11.89 (79%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.43 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of Kill Bill - Volume Two
Movie Review: kill bill vol. 2
Summary: 5 Stars
i tend to bounce back-and-forth in my mind as to which half of the "kill bill" story i like better. as of writing this review, i'm going to have to go with "vol. 2", perhaps just because it's the one i've seen more recently, but i'm thinking there's more to it than that, so i'll try to get to those points instead.
first off, this really is like splitting hairs, picking which volume is better. now, believe all of those who point out how incredibly different the movies are because they are absolute night and day, but equally good and, more importantly, equally enjoyable.
i guess the one and only edge that i'd have to give "volume 2" is that the character's you get to spend time watching in this half (alongside the Bride, who is just as awesome here as in "vol. 1") are just more in-tune with what i like to see. for example:
-i LOVE the character of Bill, and found the scenes between he and the Bride to be among my favorite ever "ex-lover" face-off's in all cinema. they're is certainly a nastiness to the scenes, but you can SEE the two of them still deeply caring for another, despite themselves, esp. upon the conclussion of their showdown. it is just excellent.
-Michael Madsen's Bud is quite possibly the most difficult character to not like in any movie ever. despite his actions toward the Bride (no more detail. don't want to ruin anything in case you haven't seen it.), you just can't help but kinda feel for the guy. i mean, a dude that has to take junk off his boss, clean up nasty toilet water at a [...]-hole strip bar, then go home to his El Paso trailer to sit alone and listen to Johnny Cash records just kinda screams "feel bad for me" even if we really don't wanna. Bud is awesome, and i like having more of him, so yet another nod to "vol. 2".
-Pei Mei is freakin' awesome, esp. if you love the old kung-fu movies that the "kill bill" series was so lovingly created to replicate. awesome!
-Elle Driver is my absolute favorite member of the divas, so her being more prominant in this half alone makes me love it, love it, love it! just EXACTLY what a "bad guy" bad girl should be, man. all this, and the revelations made during the throwdown between she and the Bride just makes that fight (and the conclussion of said fight) SO much cooler it's just insane!
there is one more character in this movie that i thought was a really neat addition, but to talk about this is to REALLY ruin the movie, so just in case, i'll let you guys decide who you think belongs in this fifth spot.
overall, "kill bill" start-to-finish is outstanding in everyway, but i wanted to yack about "volume 2" today, so that's that. thanks for reading and enjoy!
Movie Review: Less Violence, More Dialogue
Summary: 5 Stars
'Kill Bill Vol. 2' concludes Quentin Tarantino's revenge saga of a femme fatale assasin that seeks revenge on those that attempted to murder when she sought her own life. Like the first volume, the story is told through chapters that alternate between flashbacks and the present action.
Uma Thurman plays the Bride, who was nearly murdered at her own wedding by her former boss, Bill, and her the rest of the members of the Deadly Viper Assasin Squad (I think I got that right). In part one, she awoke after a four year coma to take revenge on two of the lady assasins played by Lucy Liu and Vivica Fox. Now she is after Sidewinder, played by a Tarantine regular Michael Madsen, the California Mountain Snake, played by Daryl Hannah, and Bill himself, played by Kung-Fu's David Carradine.
Where volume one was nearly all action as the Bride took her revenge on two of her former associates while subtly setting up the plot, volume two tones down the action while telling the rest of the story. Tarantino talks about this quite a lot in the DVD featurette. The trademark Tarantino dialogue is featured in key scenes between Marsden and Carradine (talking about revenge and the past) and between Carradine and Thurman (talking about comic book heros and the self we present to others). There are a few writers that have such a distinctive style for dialogue, and Tarantino's is truly unique.
Despite the reduction in action, this is still a great film. If you have an afternoon to spare, I recommend watching both volume one and two consecutively, and then watch the featurettes that talk about the films. Or, watch the films at your leisure, then watch the featurettes and then watch the films again. There is a lot to these films, and some of it is very subtle. Listening to Tarantino and the cast talk about the films opens new ways of looking at them.
Also on the DVD is a commentary, a live performance from the premiere, and a deleted scene. The deleted scene is an homage of sort to old kung-fu and karate movies. It is very over the top, and really had little to do with the rest of the movie. While the film itself lacks the geysers of blood from the first movie, this deleted scene has a few of its own. Watch it at your own risk. While on the subject of gore, there is still plenty of it in this movie. The squeemish will wince in a few places, but the blood is significantly less than the first volume.
This film is part kung-fu movie, part old spaghetti Western, and all revenge flick. Tarantino fans will be delighted. Those that liked 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Reservoir Dogs' should also like this film. Throw this movie in the DVD player the next chance you get, but tuck the kids in first.
Movie Review: Baby, you ain't kidding...
Summary: 5 Stars
Only Quentin pulled out this wonderful ending.
With Carradine gave this punch-line "Baby, you ain't kidding" before the grand final battle. It almost killed me with laughing but Quentin didn't give me enough time enjoy it, he threw in the sword-fight and fist-fight immediately. Luckily for me, I watched DVD so I could rewind it. ;-)
And the conversation between Thurman and Carradine is masterfully written in both the living room and patio.
I believe Quentin could pull out Kill Bill 3 and Kill Bill 4 as well as Kill Bill Episo One easily.
Carradine's act is favorite one since Tommy Lee Jones in MIB when he bought the Tabloid at the counter and when he accepted the drink offer from the lady at the farm house. So funny and so professional. ;-)
A few points I observed from this movie:
1) 2 seemingly unrelated scenes: killing Bill and killing Elle. We know Kiddo would kill Bill at the end but how? The whole 2 movies revolving around the Hanzo's sword. Then it had been what we all anticipated. Then Kiddo poked out Elle's last eye after Kiddo questioned Elle about the first lost eye (Mei Pei did it). I could not realize it until now that it was an introduction to the ultimate technique that he taught her. And she kept it secretly so that she could use on Bill at the end. (See human complexity below.)
2) Long fight between Bill and Kiddo: we all waited to see a long violent fight between them. It didn't happen but it DID happen. The whole 2 movies are about how Bill tried to kill Kiddo violenly but unsuccessfully. Then he stacked up the killers to stop her.
3) Bill did not want to kill Kiddo: he stopped Elle when she was about to kill Kiddo in the hospital in the first movie. He could just kill her by gun when they were in the living. Or ordered Budd to terminate Kiddo. And so on.
4) Bill is a complex person: He admitted he was a murdering bastard. He confessed he was so upset when he felt betrayed by Kiddo. He took on the job of single-dad. He didn't try to kill Kiddo after the first time, he just tried to stop her from killing him.
5) Quentin deleted one very good scene: I guessed the blood flowing was so "ridiculous" to even Quentin's standard. ;-) But on the first movie, he showed Lucy Liu with half of her brain exposed... ;-) What a sicko! ;-) (Great job, man!) And Thurman looked the best in that deleted scene. Wow!
6) It's about a love story: At the end, Kiddo and Bill still had feeling for each other.
7) Quentin admitted that the whole movie is almost all about Bill. His purpose is for the generation after Kung Fu will remember Carradine as Bill, not as Kwai Chang Caine.
Movie Review: Pure originality.....Best film of 2004
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw kill bill vol 2 last night and man was this a great movie. Possibly the best I have ever seen in quite a while.The movie is pure originality and filled with grade A dialouge that only Tarantino can give. The movie in all ways totaly lived up to my expectations and I still cant stop thinking about this masterpiece. I think kb vol 2 stand on its own compared to vol 1. The ending was quite suprising. Not what I expected. I love it! The ending was beautiful and filled with tensions between the bride(...)
The movie is more on the love side than blood dringing battles that took place in vol 1.
Vol1 had more action and less dialoug but when you watch vol 2 you will be like "What vol 1?". This film is so(...) good I might see it again.
Bride is back for her final cut as she has to kill her way until that last person is BILL. She will encounter new enemies such as bud(Bills brother)who was once an assasin for the DivAs. But now is a drunk who lives in a trailer. The movie is also longer than vol 1. Thats really a good thing.. The movie is filled with action that you wont be able to blink one eye....Ok yeah you can.. You also take a stroll around the park as you see how The Bride(...) Learned her techneek. From her master who is very dissaplint at what he teaches, the bride will stop at nothing to get what she came to do. The movies dialouge is the most important one of all. So pure. So good only Tarantino can give us this! I won't spoil anything for you but I can assure you this. Kill Bill volume 2 is a masterpiece. It is very underated and for those who think its over rated get your hw and come back when you realize what you've been missing out on. Original, Pure, The best. I choose this as my 2004 film of the year!
Final note......
DO NOT! I REPEAT! DO NOT GET Vol 1 or vol 2 on dvd. If alot of people know how Tarantino is you know one damn thing....There will always be some Collecters edition crap with lots of added footage and great behind the scene footage. What I'm trying to say is there will probably be some 3 disc collecters edition with the unrated/Directors cut filled with all the color and gore you can feed on. And it will probably have some great footage. Though I dont think vol 2 didn't have any violent things taken out since it's main purpose wasn't violence in vol 2. Even though there is 200$ special edition box set in japan just wait for some collecters edition to hit US probably around the end of 2004 or sometime in 2005. Just wait.
But for now go and see Kill Bill volume 2.
Its worth every pennie....Ok not really but Its a masterpiece of all content needed. Check it out.
Movie Review: a satisfying conclusion
Summary: 5 Stars
A film by Quentin Tarantino"Kill Bill: Volume 2" is a continuation of the story presented in "Volume One". It is not a sequel, but rather the second part of one film. Tarantino never originally planned on releasing this in two parts, but when his finished film came in over 3 hours Miramax and Tarantino decide to release it in two parts. The result is two excellent films. "Volume One" was a high action, stylish film with a lot of energy (and was also one of the better films of last year). "Volume Two" slows down the pace quite a bit, but it remains just as excellent as the first.
The film opens with a black and white scene with The Bride (Uma Thurman) driving and speaking directly to the camera. She gives a little recap of what has come before, and concludes by telling us that she still plans on killing Bill. Since Tarantino does not work entirely chronologically, it is obvious this scene is set rather late in the film. We know The Bride will make it to Bill (David Carradine), otherwise we don't have much of a movie, but we want to see how she makes it. In the first film The Bride killed O-Ren Ishii and Vernita Green, two members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, but she still has two left. Bill's brother, Budd (Michael Madsen), and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah). I won't be spoiling anything when I say that nothing plays out the way you think it will.
There is one rather important flashback in the middle of the movie that shows The Bride's training with Pai Mei (Gordon Liu). We see a younger Bride, somewhat naïve and less focused (though partially trained by Bill) come into her own as Pai Mei's student. The lessons are brutal, but important both to explain The Bride's skills but also to directly set up a following scene. Perhaps without the training, the following scene will not work.
As good as some of the fight sequences were in "Volume One", the fight with Elle Driver in this film is worth the price of admission with a moment that absolutely shocks (I've never heard a theater audience gasp quite like this before). It is a great fight, highly appropriate for the characters and is a highlight of the movie.
For much of the rest of the movie, the pace is much slower, but it held my interest at all times. The more I think about this movie, the more I like it. I'm not sure it is quite as good as "Volume One", but it is a satisfying end to the film (counting both movies as one film) and it delivers some great moments. I'd imagine that if you liked the first movie you'll see this one, but if you were on the fence, check out the first film and then head out and see "Volume Two".