This is the sort of movie that rewards you for paying close attention. Knowing your movie history and knowing various genres pays off as you can see the influences all over this film. From the wild zooms evocative of Shaw brothers’ kung fu movies to gorgeous black and white chapter on the massacre at Two Pines, this movie drips with style. So did the first movie but this is the one where the characters mean something, the one where we get a real story to make it all sing.
Vol. 1 was all about the Bride awakening from a coma and beginning to seek revenge on the people who put her there. Despite tons of blood spilled and countless people killed, she scratched only two names off her list. And through all of it we had barely any idea who these people were. Vol. 2 finally introduces us to the titular Bill, played with grace, charm and menace by David Carradine. He does a wonderful job of making Bill sympathetic even though we know he's a rotten bastard and so does he. We learn that he was responsible for training the Bride to make her the deadliest woman in the world. We learn that she traveled the world, carrying out assassinations for him but threw it all away when she became pregnant.
Vol. 2 also introduces to Budd, Bill's brother and the only person in the movie who seems grounded in reality. Budd was also one of Bill's assassins but he gave it up to become a bouncer in titty bar. He's doing some self-inflected penance for what he did to the Bride. Warned of her rampage of revenge, he refuses to run, saying he deserves to die for what he did. He also says she deserves to die too for her sins. This is a great performance by Michael Madsen, who appears to have put on a bit of weight for it. He gives Budd some nice shading, making him likable, despite being a killer. You can just see it in his eyes that he doesn't have to take crap from his boss but he does it anyway because he doesn't feel that he deserves better. It's really a great performance that gives this movie a lot of heart that was missing in Vol. 1.
When I think back on the movie I keep coming back to a variety of bits and pieces that take the movie to a higher place than most films. The way David Carradine plays with his flute while telling the Bride about the kung fu master Pai Mei gives the scene a lot more flavor than just reading the lines. The way Darryl Hannah's character Elle settles in to chatter at a victim while he dies builds up her character into a far more vicious person. The way Pai Mei plays with his long beard during fights and conversations alike makes for great humor. The way Tarantino plays with film styles and formats to show inspiration or add more texture to a scene is brilliant. The fight scene between the Bride and Elle is just a delight. It is a brutal fight inside a trailer that restricts their movements while giving ample opportunity for mayhem. The ending to that fight is unforgettable.
Above all has to be considered the dialogue. Tarantino's characters have a tendency to get into long-winded discussions about side issues. That continues here and it develops the characters but also gives us great lines to chew on. The dialog has a way of amping up the story and action, making it seem all the more important for the lack of discussion given it compared to other topics. It also gives the characters quirks and obsessions that make them stand out more clearly and linger more in our memories.
Uma Thurman gets a lot more to do in this film in terms of dramatic acting and she makes the most of it. This time around the Bride is more than just a dark angel of vengeance. Here we can see what makes her tick and what set her on this path. She can be funny, ruthless and touching, sometimes in the same scene. In the first film she impressed as a warrior but here she is the complete package.
I still insist that this should have been one somewhat long movie. Tarantino was given the rare opportunity to run with a production and he took full advantage but it does hurt the twin films. The two movies are like night and day. Vol. 1 feels almost like an afterthought after seeing Vol. 2. For all its entertainment, even Vol. 2 has some bloat. There are scenes that could be cut entirely and many that could be trimmed. The effect would be a leaner film with better pacing. The old adage for writers and directors is that you must kill all your darlings. Tarantino had the chance to leave them all in and did so. Let's just hope that his next movie exhibits some restraint. It's the only thing keeping this movie from greatness.
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