Kill Bill Vol. 2: Viewer Comments

I know the movie is not up to par with Vol. 1, but the way I look at it the stories are mashed together, which actually makes "Kill Bill" one delightful treat for everyone.

Don't tell me that I don't finish what I start. Speaking of which, I don't know where to start. Quentin pulled the old pretentious artist schtick by doing exactly what he wants to do rather than consider the essence of the story and core audience of the first volume. See, the first one was basically a samurai flick, this one is a spagetti western. This does not make for a natural or fluid transition. QT has managed, through this somewhat selfish and Hollywood-esque method, to capture the attention of many types of crowds and creating a movie whose two parts may have completely different fan followings. Kind of gimmicky corporate mess in my opinion but whatever. There is just insufficient action in this one. Everone talks about the big cat fight with Uma and Daryl and how it was this great fight. Too bad it's not. What fight were you folks watching?!? That fight is garbage. Just plain ridiculous. This expert female killer can't figure out a way to draw or use her sword in an enclosed space so it starts to play out like an SNL sketch. Quentin was gracious enough, however, to cast Gordon Liu as a stereotypical throwback of the generic, mean, but dilligent crusty turd of a master. All the fights suck! The best fight in this movie isn't even in this movie. It was removed. David Carradine vs. Michael Jai White. It is short but somehow very satisfying. The final showdown? Fucking disappointing. This was the ultra thick, cushy pillows of padded bras. We were kind of promised so much but we got so little. Ten fucking seconds and it ends with a corny "special secret technique"--the kind indigenous to all those goofy old schoolers that were great when you were young but now you have to watch them drunk to really get a kick out of it. The saving grace of this long winded station of smoke and mirrors is one actor's performance. An actor I hate. I still view David Carradine as a tool of a corrupt and racist system that got his entire career off the blood, sweat and hard work of an icon. In my personal opinion he is one of the men responsible for Bruce Lee's death. Bruce Lee developed the concept that the show Kung Fu was based upon. The idea was catered for Bruce to be the star. Unfortuately thanks to good old bigotry, Hollywood opted for a young Irish dancer to portray a Chinese kung fu master as opposed to an actual Chinese kung fu master portraying something that comes naturally with credibility. Back then David Carradine was probably like he is now. A shameless, greedy, unethical, corporate bitch of a prick that apparently liked the idea of pretending he was Chinese--as he went on to do so for over two decades. When Bruce didn't get this part he had to work much harder to achieve the promises he had made to himself years earlier. All that extra work and effort wound up take its toll on Bruce and he was dead by 32 and nobody knows why. It is entirely possible that if doors were opened to him earlier he would not have had to travel so much, campaign, work and train while dealing with the jet lag and malnutrition that comes with an extraordinarily busy lifestyle. Perhaps it could have turned out much better if in your struggles society itself is not against you. But perhaps I have tripped too hard and too far off topic. As I was saying, this movie features David Carradine's best performance around. It is honestly (and I hate to say this) quite captivating and perhaps even pitch perfect (the Superman speech was fantastic). However a fine performance and some well written dialog can't offset the fact that it unbalances the entire flow and meaning of the first volume. As volume 2 I give it 3 stars. On its own maybe 3.5 to 4 stars but it is not on its own. Thanks for reading and support your local dojos, gyms and Kwoon. Peace out.

One thing for sure, I highly doubt that anyone who is a fan of the martial arts movie genre has yet to see this modern day contemporary revenge classic starring such an ethnically diverse international and highly acclaimed ensemble cast of actors and actresses.

However, if by any chance there is someone that has not seen this film, then I only hope that director Quentin Tarantino will release the highly rumored full-length version of the movie.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "Game Of Death", "Versus", "The Princess Blade", "The Prodigal Son", "Shaolin Master Killer", "She Shoots Straight", "The Punisher" (2004).