When it comes to good cinema, no one makes a better film than Quentin Tarantino. Where directors like Spielberg and Kevin Smith have the knack for starting off with good films then slacking in their product, Tarantino delivers screenplays that are always interesting. His latest film, Kill Bill Vol. 2 is no exception, and after seven years it is a relief to see this two-piece follow up.

Staring Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen and Daryl Hannah … to name a few. Kill Bill Vol. 2 is better than, but incomparable to, Volume 1. Where the first is not so much a kung-fu movie than simply a Tarantino movie with kung fu in it, Volume 2 is a bittersweet love story intertwined in the plot of a revenge movie.

The second half of the full story, Kill Bill, Vol. 2 deals with Thurman’s character (The Bride, as she is known in Vol. 1; her real name is disclosed in Vol. 2) who seeks revenge on the man that betrayed her (Bill, played by Carradine) and the four minions under him. Each tale is cut up in chapters and rearranged, switching from present tense to flash back in a deeply detailed and highly derived story that only Tarantino can pull off. It is a style greatly emulated in many pictures today, but Tarantino uses this technique in his own way to create the impression of reading a cheap novel. It’s done so well and with such class that it is unmistakable and uncannily a trademark of this filmmaker, despite how graphic or violent some critics say the content is.

There is no doubt that Kill Bill is a violent movie, but what sets apart this style from other action films is how it is shown. Where the cookie cutter action flick is a poorly written plot mixed in with droning violence, Kill Bill is a wonderfully written story with the dialogue building the suspense for whatever is going on or forthcoming. Instead of just showing what is about to happen, Tarantino writes his characters to have an in-depth and analytical conversation about what’s happening or coming up. At one point, Thurman’s character is about to be buried alive, but before the scene can even get to that, Budd (Michael Madsen) gives an almost killjoy ultimatum between the ‘mace’ or the ‘flashlight’. Dialogue like this draws out the suspense in the scenes of Kill Bill and makes the viewer almost pray for the visual torture of the next few shots. Madsen proceeds to bury Thurman, but the burial is never actually shown. It’s left up to the imagination of the viewer through sheer sound of dirt falling on coffin. It’s a technique of not showing the actual process of morbidity, but letting the viewer believe they have just seen it through build up and sound. This sets Tarantino apart from the rest. It is also reminiscent of another Tarantino film, Reservoir Dogs, when Mr. Blond, who was also played by Madsen, tells the cop he can say anything he wants but he is still going to torture him, and then cuts his ear off. The ear removal is never shown, but the build-up leaves one with the feeling that they just saw the ear being cut from the officers’ head. It is not hard to show violence, but Tarantino makes you believe you have seen more than you really have.

As always, Tarantino subtly connects this film with all of his others ‘ whether digeticly or not. His use of timid catch phrases and names from his other films find a spot in this story, as do former stars of his other films. More class is brought out when someone like Samuel L. Jackson makes a cameo.

The acting in this film is great, but the scene-stealer is David Carradine (Kane in Kung-Fu) him self. If Carradine isn’t nominated for Best Supporting Actor next year for his roll as Bill, then something is definitely wrong with the academy. Thurman is the only actress that could pull off the job as the bride (well, maybe Juliette Lewis could). Daryl Hannah should also be nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her sexy roll as Elle, the one-eyed assassin.

When it comes right down to it, you don’t have to have seen Kill Bill Vol. 1 to understand or appreciate Vol. 2. They are two different films that are part of the same story. That may not make sense, but go see both movies and I guarantee it will.

I have waited all semester to give a movie this rating; I have also waited 8 months for this movie in particular. GO SEE KILL BILL.

Source: arbiteronline