Kill Bill: Vol. 2

A female assassin (Uma Thurman), left for dead on her wedding day, continues her quest for revenge on those that wronged her.

While Kill Bill: Vol. 2, like its predecessor, does place style over substance; this time the style is darker and the substance is a little more substantial.

Originally one long movie, the split between Volume 1 and Volume 2 seems natural. While the first volume plays like an homage to Asian pop culture, the second is an homage to the revenge films of the 70s (a large Mr. Majestyk poster is shown prominently on the wall of Michael Madsen’s character’s trailer) and, as such, works very well. Sure, the kung-fu is still here, but the over-the-top choreography of Volume 1 is replaced by more brutal, 1-on-1 encounters that seem much more violent than anything in the first movie.

Unfortunately, this shift in tone is Kill Bill: Vol. 2’s undoing. As the movie unwinds it hints at a greatness it never achieves, and by the time David Carradine delivers his dissertation on Superman, the viewer can’t help but hope for a payoff that’s more than this movie delivers.