Classic--Kill Bill: Vol. 2

or: Seeking Revenge...Bloody Revenge.

One word to sum it up: WTF?!

I did watch the first Kill Bill back in early 2008, and I was surprised by how much I actually remember from it. I leapt at the opportunity to watch Kill Bill: Volume Two, as it is one of the only Quentin Tarantino movies I have never seen (the other one being Reservoir Dogs, which I have seen half of). There isn't really an explaination as to why I, and others, admire Tarantino so much. You just do. His films are beasts of nature.

The murderous Bride (Uma Thurman) is back and she is still continuing her vengeance quest against her ex-boss, Bill (David Carradine), and taking aim at Bill's younger brother 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, the Bride's former master and the man who ordered her execution!

This movie, though filled to the brim with some pretty outrageous gore, is just a non-stop enjoyment-fest. If you don't enjoy this movie, then there is something wrong with you. Quentin knows what he wants from this movie: he wants it to be fun and show off some amazing martial arts skills, but he also doesn't let it get too out of hand. Uma Thurman, too, makes The Bride a character we should care about, and is a hero that should be merely respected because she is trying to make a better life for her daughter...even if that means killing a few people to do that. Kill Bill could have turned out as some cheap rip off of other revenge flicks, but luckily, with a solid performance from Uma and some human touches intertwined within all the gore and fighting, it manages to make a phenomenon.

When rating this film, I guess I should consider that it's part of Kill Bill: Volume One and the only thing that seperated these films was their running time. Together they make for (no pun intended) bloody good action films, that serve as a reminder that a QT homage to a certain genre isn't a cheap rip off. It's a total reinvention. Quentin knows how to make a good film, thanks to his excellent dialogue skills and ways of making stupid turn smart. Sometimes his brain will get the better of him, but that's not the end of the world.

THE VERDICT: A totally awesome action flick that is as good as the original, though a little less action packed and more dialogue-filled. Not that that's a bad thing. Satisfactory for fans of the first film, too.

8/10