Having already
crossed two names from her Death List, The Bride is
back with a
vengeance and
taking aim
at Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), the only
survivors from the squad of assassins who betrayed her four years
earlier. It's all leading up to the
ultimate
confrontation with Bill (David Carradine), The Bride's former
master and the man who ordered her execution!
CRITIQUE
Seeing Kill Bill
Vol. 2 in a theater with a packed audience as part of a sneak
preview was a cool experience. After the show I couldn't say
whether I liked it just the same as Vol. 1 or better. A few
days later I made up my mind, and so Vol. 2 was just as
good. Quentin Tarantino continued the story extravagantly, the
action didn't subside, the visuals looked terrific, the music
swelled up nicely, and then there's the running time.
So yesterday I
popped in the DVD and watched the film again, but my opinion of it
changed a little bit. First of all, at 137 minutes, Vol. 2
feels a tad bit too long. There's one scene in particular that
doesn't work or connect to anything else in the film - it's the
scene with Budd in the bar talking to his boss. Throughout the
film are scenes that tend to run on longer than necessary, and
Tarantino should've tried to restrain himself a bit. But the editing of scenes, particularly the fight sequences,
is very well done at the hands of editor Sally Menke.
I guess my
main complaint about the film's length would be towards the end,
there's perhaps a bit too much philosophical talking going on with
Bill and the action slows down once the Bride enters Mexico. Aside
from that, this is a good action film with obvious Western
influences, complete with Ennio Morricone music and some really
sweet visuals from the cameramen and director of photography
Robert Richardson, while the first film looked more exotic.
Structurally,
Vol. 2 flows nicely. Tarantino makes good use of the flashback
that shows the Bride training with Pai Mei. The payoff in the
scene after it is cool and evokes a kind of "rooting" emotion.
Plus, Uma Thurman's acting is top notch. She's in great physical
shape and delivers the dialogue convincingly, even if some lines
in the script sound more theatrical than realistic. The supporting
players, especially David Carradine who's featured on screen a lot
in this film (as opposed to his cameo-like appearance in the
first), deliver solid performances.
THE VIDEO
Miramax presents Kill Bill
in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture looks pretty nice
until the arrival of noticeable edge enhancement and halos
around the edges. Colors look pretty bright and well-saturated,
and the image quality doesn't suffer from any dirt or artifacts.
Black levels and dark tones look quite nice, but again the EE
and halos make the presentation less than solid.
THE AUDIO
Miramax presents Kill Bill
in English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. Sound effects are nicely
reinforced by the surrounds, and the rear speakers emit audio
with good force and balance. Dialogue is clear and easy to
understand, and the music is very loud as it should be. The
front speakers do a terrific job, and overall this presentation
is pretty good.
I wasn't able to
test the 5.1 DTS Digital Surround track, but I'm sure it's
at least just as good as the DD track. A French dub is available. Optional subtitles include
English.
THE EXTRAS
First is The Making of
Kill Bill Vol. 2 a 26-minute documentary filled with interviews,
film clips (perhaps too many of them), and behind-the-scenes footage. Unlike the making-of on the Volume 1
DVD, this one seems like more talk than covering aspects of the
film. Yes, the various characters are discussed, but that's it -
I didn't really care for all the talk to tell you the truth.
Towards the end we learn of the $1 score from Robert Rodriguez,
but overall I'm a bit disappointed by this making-of.
Next is an
11-minute video of the Chingon performance from the Kill
Bill Vol. 2 premiere. Basically, it's Robert Rodriguez
and members of his band playing guitar and singing the song that
played during the end credits in the film.
Lastly, there's a
cool 3-minute deleted scene, called "Damoe," of a fight sequence between Michael Jay White's
omitted character and David Carradine's Bill. The choreography of
the action and camera is pretty sweet. I'm interested to know
why this scene was deleted, but Tarantino doesn't offer
commentary.
Also, there are no
trailers here at all! The Vol. 1 DVD included a bunch of them,
so what's the deal?
A
4-page insert lists scene selections, specifications for the
special editions of Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown,
and an article called "Here Comes The Bride...Again" by Andy Klein
of Citybeat. A second insert is included, featuring pictures of
Kill Bill action figures and various items associated
with the film, including Pussy Wagon key chains, lighters, tin
lunchboxes, shooters, and flasks.
The
137-minute feature is organized into nineteen chapters. This
shortage of chapters causes a little bit of trouble as one
segment in the film, specifically "The Cruel Tutelage of Pai
Mei," runs eighteen minutes long and is only one chapter. Other
chapters are placed nicely, however. The disc comes in an Amaray keepcase.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Kill Bill Vol. 2
is a pretty good film, but overall it performs a little less than the
first, mostly because it slows down in spots. That's not to say it's bad
a bad film, however. The action still kicks
major buttocks, and the visuals are terrific. There's a bit more drama
here, as well as some good tension. Tarantino wraps up and
concludes the Bride's journey on a satisfying note.
The DVD edition is
plagued a bit by the picture's edge enhancement and halo issues,
though the audio presentation sounds very good. The limited bonus
material should be enough incentive to check this disc out as a rental
or a bargain purchase, because it's a no-brainer that a big special
edition will arrive sometime next year.
