Tarantino revisits classic cinema in the flawless conclusion of "Kill Bill"

Uma Thurman, aka The Bride, rolls onto the black and white set of Kill Bill Vol. 2's second scene in an unmoving vehicle, celebrating forgotten spaghetti western cheesiness, as the heroine retells the plot of the saga's unforgettable beginning.

Prodigal director Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs) revisits the art of superb narrative in the spirit of his preceding works, along with the natural rule of hundreds of great films before his time--in the world of great cinema, the wronged renegades always come back for their revenge. At least in this highly-romanticized world of film, the bad guys always get exactly what's coming to them.

Kill Bill's story unfolds as an overwhelming desire for payback surfaces in The Bride, as she wakes up from a coma that lover Bill brought on with his jealous bullet. Thurman's Bride is also Bill's master assassin, who tries to escape the dangerous lifestyle for the sake of her newly-discovered pregnancy. Instead, Bill destroys his protege's dreams of escape, which undoubtedly leads to a heaping serving of classic poetic justice.

Vol. 2 consists of more of an explanation than the excessively gorrific action of Vol 1., a treat for fans of Tarantino's trademark dialogue and vignette storytelling. The shift was necessary in spackling up all the holes Q.T. tears open with his first can of whoopass, leaving no question behind in the dust of Vol. 2's abandoned deserts.

The film's agenda follows that of The Bride's: to cross off all members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad from the 'Death List Five.' Vol. 2 has three more to go, foreshadowing less action within the sparsely-scattered brawl scenes between likeable characters.

Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs) plays Budd, Bill's brother, now working as a bouncer at the My-Oh-My strip club. Seemingly the least deadly of the five, Budd thrives on his honky-tonk instincts to keep on surviving alongside the wittier, sturdier female assassins.

The one-eyed viperous villain Elle Driver, played by Darryl Hannah, replaces the Bride in the DiVASquad as most deadly assassin and Bill's main squeeze. Hannah's performance in Vol. 2 is her most hypnotic since Blade Runner, taking a strange turn from the usual romantic sweetheart (Splash) to deadly debutante.

Article Author: Crystal Erickson

Visit Crystal Erickson's author page — Crystal Erickson's Blog