Kill Bill: Vol. 2

"Finally!," cries the exasperated geek, who can now sit down and watch Quentin Tarantino's homage to martial arts massacres and slow-burn revenge westerns in one sitting now that Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is out (not that I did or anything). And it's truly a grand achievement, viewed either separately or coupled with its predecessor. While not possessed of the frenzied hack and slash replay value of Kill Bill: Vol. 1's kill-crazy rampages (there are only a handful of fight scenes in Vol. 2 and nothing that equals the "Showdown at House of Blue Leaves"), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is a more plot-driven, slower-paced tale laden with exposition, character development and Tarantino's infamous dialogue (check out Bill's Superman speech). If Vol. 1 was his martial arts epic coloured with bits of spaghetti westerns, unquestionably this is his spaghetti western with the occasional martial arts tumbleweed blowing through town. Picking up right where Vol. 1 leaves off, Vol. 2 reunites us with the Bride (Uma Thurman) on her righteous quest to kill Bill (David Carradine), her ex-boss/lover, and her former partners in the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad in true payback-style for massacring her wedding party, robbing her of her child and leaving her for dead. However, Tarantino masterfully flips the tone, look and pacing of Vol. 2 (for the most part it's dry, dusty and diffused), making it a totally separate movie from Vol. 1. Unquestionably Carradine is great as the psychopathic Bill, but just try to imagine another actress playing the Bride besides Uma — can't do it. Unquestionably, Tarantino's two film genre-mashing accomplishment is impressive but what aren't impressive are the extras. Although more substantial than Vol. 1's, featuring a more in-depth "behind the scenes" featurette, the much talked about axed fight scene between Carradine and Michael Jai White (which should have been left in to give a sense of Bill's skills), and a performance from Robert Rodriguez's Chingon group from the film's premier, it still is thin compared to what will most likely be released down the line. Regardless, much like the first, an essential purchase for any film geek. (Alliance Atlantis)