Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Quentin Tarantino

Writers:

Quentin Tarantino (character The Bride) &
Uma Thurman (character The Bride) ...

Release Date:

16 April 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Plot:

The murderous Bride continues her vengeance quest against her ex-boss, Bill, and his two remaining associates; his younger brother Budd, and Bill's latest flame Elle.

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Death | Wedding Chapel | Female Assassin | Snake

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 9 wins & 38 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 6

12:00 AM

SPIKETV

Cast

Uma Thurman	...	Beatrix Kiddo - The Bride, 'Black Mamba'
David Carradine	...	Bill - 'Snake Charmer'
Lucy Liu	...	O-Ren Ishii (archive footage)
Vivica A. Fox	...	Vernita Green (archive footage)
Chia Hui Liu	...	Pai Mei (as Gordon Liu)
Michael Madsen	...	Budd - 'Sidewinder'
Daryl Hannah	...	Elle Driver
Michael Parks	...	Esteban Vihaio
Bo Svenson	...	Reverend Harmony
Jeannie Epper	...	Mrs. Harmony
Stephanie L. Moore	...	Joleen
Shana Stein	...	Erica
Caitlin Keats	...	Janeen
Christopher Allen Nelson	...	Tommy Plympton (as Chris Nelson)
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Rufus

Also Known As:

Kill Bill (USA) (closing credits title)
Kill Bill 2 (USA) (informal title)
Vol. 2 (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Cantonese | Mandarin | Spanish

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:18A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Taiwan:R-12 | Malaysia:18SG (re-rating) | Iceland:16 | Hungary:18 | USA:R (certificate #40699) | USA:NC-17 (Special Edition DVD) | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Israel:16 | Italy:T | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-13 | Poland:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | South Africa:16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Barstow, California, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Bill refers to The Bride as "a natural born killer". Quentin Tarantino wrote the first script of Natural Born Killers (1994) although the final film was largely wrote by the director Oliver Stone.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): At the wedding rehearsal, the minister's gestures for the seating arrangements are incorrect.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bill: Do you find me sadistic? You know, Kiddo, I'd like to believe that you're aware enough even now to know that there's nothing sadistic in my actions. At this moment, this is me at my most masochistic.
The Bride: Bill, it's your baby.

Movie Connections:

References Zombi 2 (1979)

Soundtrack:

Il Tramonto (Sundown)

It transcends its genre and becomes Tarantino's most thoughtful and sophisticated work

In my brief, initial review of 'Kill Bill Vol. 1.' I made the regrettable mistake of dismissing it as exceedingly pleasing yet unsubstantial stylistic masturbation, lacking the profundity and characterizations of Tarantino's previous works. Rarely have I been happier to be proven wrong.

What once seemed like somewhat incoherent cinematic recklessness has, after viewing the second part of Mr. Tarantino's saga, revealed itself to be wild, imaginative and brilliant filmmaking. As a whole, 'Kill Bill' is utterly unified (not despite but because of the radical shift in tone), possesses a strong, dramatic ark, and, above all, stands as quite possibly the most passionate, loving tribute to cinema I have ever seen. While part one pays homage to Brian De Palma, Dario Argento and the Shaw Brothers, part two cites, among many others, Jean-Luc Godard, Sergio Leone, and Robert Siodmark.

But that's far from all.

In his critical essay 'The Cinema of the Cool', Kevin Murphy suggests that Tarantino must move on and grow up to fully realize his potential as a filmmaker. In my opinion, with this piece, he has done so. Those merely seeking the blood-splattered, broken-bone action of Vol. 1 will be severely disappointed by Vol. 2, which is infinitely more thoughtful, pondering the nature of violence, both in cause and effect. While the action in the first installment was great, comic book fun, here it becomes severely unpleasant, cringe inducing, and never without consequence. If anything, it reminded me of the great Akira Kurosawa's work. Remarkable.