Kill Bill V02 (2004)

"If Kill Bill Vol. 1 was bloody exhilarating, Vol. 2 is bloody great.  Chris Kaltenbach, Baltimore Sun
"The most voluptuous comic-book movie ever made.  Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times
"This is a movie of head-spinning richness.  Glenn Kenney, Premiere
"The result is insanely good, and the best time I've had at the movies in ages.  Ty Burr, Boston Globe
"A triumph!  Entertainment Weekly
"...a brilliant, invigorating work, one to muse over for years to come.  Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter
"Few filmmakers love movies as intensely; fewer still have the ability to remind us why we fell for movies in the first place.  Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times
"...Madsen is killer good...Hannah mesmerizes...Thurman gives an electrifying performance...and Tarantino knocks it out of the park.  Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Editor's Note The second and final volume in Quentin Tarantino's KILL BILL series is another stylish, sprawling masterwork. VOLUME 2 picks up where the first film left off, as The Bride (Uma Thurman) resumes her quest to track down her former mentor, Bill (David Carradine), and exact revenge. But before she gets to Bill, she must first take out the remaining minions who helped to slaughter her best friends and fiancé. First up is Budd (Michael Madsen), a quiet but dangerous country boy who lives in a trailer. Next is Elle Driver (Darryl Hannah), a one-eyed vixen who doesn't appear to have a heart--or a conscience. As The Bride makes her way closer to Bill, scenes from her past are revisited, including her training with the angry and brutal Pai Mei (Gordon Liu). Finally, The Bride locates her man, sparking a truly unforgettable confrontation. In contrast to the nearly dialogue-free first volume, VOLUME 2 is filled with extended conversations that bring the story full circle. Thurman is once again riveting as the determined assassin, while Carradine delivers one of his best performances ever as the sadistic title character. Director of photography Robert Richardson uses a variety of film stocks to great effect, adding even more flair to Tarantino's already eye-popping vision. Rounding out things is an electrifying soundtrack that features original music from The RZA and Robert Rodriguez, as well as songs from Shivaree, Ennio Morricone, and Johnny Cash.

	Chiaki Kuriyama
	Daryl Hannah
	David Carradine
	Julie Dreyfus
	Lucy Liu
	Michael Madsen
	Sonny Chiba
	Uma Thurman
	Vivica A. Fox
	David Wasco - Production Designer
	Harvey Weinstein, et al. - Executive Producer
	Lawrence Bender - Producer
	Quentin Tarantino - Director
	Quentin Tarantino - Screenplay
	Robert Richardson - Cinematographer
	Sally Menke - Editor
	Yohei Taneda - Production Designer

Entertainment Weekly
"[W]ith VOL. 2, the erudition of Tarantino's audacious and triumphant project pays off emotionally." p.56

New York Times
"[T]he most voluptuous comic-book movie ever made?.It is rich, substantial and sustained, yet also greasy kids' stuff, a wrapper filled with an extra large order of chili fries, stained with ketchup, salt and cheese." 04/16/2004 p.E1

Los Angeles Times
"An adrenaline shot to the movie heart, soul and mind, Quentin Tarantino's KILL BILL VOL. 2 is a blast of pure pop pleasure." 04/16/2004 p.C1

USA Today
"[M]ore widescreen-languorous and even contemplative. In fact, the spirit of Sergio Leone must be bowing its head in pride at 2's transparent homage..." 04/16/2004 p.7E

Chicago Sun-Times
"[A]n exuberant celebration of moviemaking, coasting with heedless joy from one audacious chapter to another..." 04/16/2004 p.31

Uncut
"Uma 'n' Keith share enough sassy lines and high-kicking homicides to hold you..." 09/01/2004 p.136

James Berardinelli's ReelViews 7 of 10
I enjoyed Kill Bill Volume 2 more than Volume 1. The second movie is less kinetic but

Rolling Stone 10 of 10
The bonus this time is that the actors hold their own against the flying swords and fists of fury. M - Peter Travers

Chicago Sun-Times 10 of 10
Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 2 is an exuberant celebration of moviemaking, coasting wit - Roger Ebert

ReelViews 8 of 10
Two things are readily apparent about Kill Bill Volume 2. First, unlike its predecessor, this is a complete movie. It stands on its own. It is possible to see and enjoy Volume 2 in a way that was not true of Volume 1. Viewed in retrospect, the first installment now seems like an easily discarded prologue. The real meat is in Volume 2. Secondly, Quentin Tarantino needs a new editor - someone who can convince him to make the really hard cuts. Sally Menke, who has held that post for all of Tarantino's movies, couldn't/wouldn't/didn't convince the ego-centric filmmaker that eliminating about 30 minutes of filler from Kill Bill Volume 2 would have made it a leaner, meaner motion picture...I enjoyed Kill Bill Volume 2 more than Volume 1. The second movie is less kinetic but more satisfying. Tonally, the two films are different, which may be the result of the split. Hopefully, Tarantino's original, single-movie cut of Kill Bill will eventually be available on DVD. With the two parts re-knitted and much of the extraneous material removed, this could be a great motion picture, right up there with Pulp Fiction. As it currently stands, Kill Bill is a victim of its director's ego and its distributor's greed. The moments of greatness make it worth seeing, and there's certainly plenty of entertainment to be found here, but it's hard not to lament what might have been. - James Berardinelli

ReelViews 10 of 10
Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill, Volume 2" is an exuberant celebration of moviemaking, coasting with heedless joy from one audacious chapter to another, working as irony, working as satire, working as drama, working as pure action. I liked it even more than "Kill Bill, Volume 1" (2003). It's not a sequel but a continuation and completion, filmed at the same time; now that we know the whole story, the first part takes on another dimension...Of the original "Kill Bill," I wrote: "The movie is all storytelling and no story. The motivations have no psychological depth or resonance, but are simply plot markers. The characters consist of their characteristics." True, but one of the achievements of "Volume 2" is that the story is filled in, the characters are developed, and they do begin to resonate, especially during the extraordinary final meeting between The Bride and Bill -- which consists not of nonstop action but of more hypnotic dialogue and ends in an event that is like a quiet, deadly punch line...Put the two parts together, and Tarantino has made a masterful saga that celebrates the martial arts genre while kidding it, loving it, and transcending it...But this is all one film, and now that we see it whole, it's greater than its two parts; Tarantino remains the most brilliantly oddball filmmaker of his generation, and this is one of the best films of the year. - Roger Ebert