After seeing \Kill Bill Vol. 2,"" there is one thing that is abundantly clear-Quentin Tarantino did a masterful job splitting what is obviously a single film into two volumes. ""Vol. 1"" and ""Vol. 2"" are most definitely films that must be seen as parts of a whole, and I'm quite excited to see a ""director's cut"" on DVD down the line. But each volume does not mirror the other; rather, they complement one another.??And, in the process, the ""Kill Bill"" mythology stands as one of the most unique cinematic undertakings in recent memory.
""Vol. 1"" introduced The Bride (Uma Thurman) and her mission for revenge. Her former assassin partners, the Deadly Vipers, kill her entire wedding party. Their leader, Bill (David Carradine), puts a bullet in The Bride's head, steals her unborn child, and leaves her in a long coma. She awakens and wants revenge. Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox) and O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) each got marked off her list in ""Vol. 1.""
The film was decidedly a product of Tarantino's love for grindhouse kung-fu films and heavily reflects it in every line and frame. Plus, it featured the incredible fight between The Bride and O-Ren's bodyguards, the Crazy 88-and the beautiful but insane Go-Go Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama).
If the two volumes were placed back to back, the transition would be nearly flawless. It would feel natural, rather than choppy (as one would expect). But despite this cohesiveness, ""Vol. 2"" is its own film. If ""Vol. 1"" was in the style of Eastern revenge films, ""Vol. 2"" is all about the Western revenge film-the spaghetti Western. Tarantino draws on the traditional Western style with reckless abandon, even down to shots reminiscent of old John Ford movies. Some of the Eastern kung-fu influence remains, most notably in the chapter about Bill and The Bride's kung-fu master Pai Mei (Gordon Liu).
This shift in tone is matched with the shift in secondary villains. The Bride is now hunting Bill's brother and sister, Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah). Budd has been reduced to trailer life in the desert, working as a strip club bouncer. This is where both The Bride and Elle find him, and ""Vol. 2"" takes off on its way toward its inevitable conclusion.
While the Budd character comes across as so much more than expected (largely due to Madsen's excellent performance) the best chapters in the film center around Bill and The Bride. The opening chapter details the infamous wedding rehearsal, which was only seen in bits and pieces in ""Vol. 1."" The undertone here, when The Bride realizes Bill has shown up at her wedding rehearsal, is outstanding. Whereas ""Vol. 1"" makes it hard to believe The Bride and Bill could ever have been in a relationship, ""Vol. 2"" makes that relationship quite real.
The other extremely memorable chapter is The Bride's training with Pai Mei, whom Tarantino has made into a deliberate caricature. Mei's long, flowing white hair and almost deified abilities as an ancient fighter are ridiculous and yet believable as part of the mythos Tarantino has crafted.
Already I've heard complaints that the ending was a bit anti-climactic. It's true that ""Vol. 2"" is a notch down from the breakneck action of ""Vol. 1,"" but it doesn't drag-and the ending, while not quite what I expected, is fitting. There's a lot more talking here, but it's all in that oddball Tarantino way that never seems to pull a film down. And the action we do see is outstanding (including the cringe-worthy end of The Bride's fight with Elle Driver).
I hear that Tarantino has plans for a third volume involving the daughter in the opening of ""Vol. 1."" Long-term plans, in fact-he's considering shooting a film in 15 or 20 years, once the young actress reaches adulthood. Some flashback scenes will even be shot soon, while the actors are still young so that he has footage to work with. This could become an outstanding career series for Tarantino, allowing him to shoot a couple of volumes every couple decades, similar to Lucas' ""Star Wars"" prequels, only hopefully Tarantino won't royally screw up.
""Kill Bill"" is unlike any action film to hit American theaters. It is a celebration of Eastern and Western film-a visual wink and a nudge, as though Tarantino is slyly poking fun at the genres but he is allowed to because of his deep knowledge and love for them. He has created a film borne out of collective memories, scenes and scenarios and characters skimmed from the surface of all the old kung-fu and Western films. The result is quite an accomplishment, even for a director like Quentin Tarantino.
wwtemby@wisc.edu.
