Overview
better than the first volume, but slower. less blood bath and more character development.
Cast
i loved seeing a younger, more carefree beatrix and uma thurman did a great job with this character, especially in the scenes with david carradine (particularly at the wedding rehearsal). the scenes with pai mei are great and elle driver is fleshed out. her schtick with the notebook was great. michael madsen was surprisingly touching (at times) as budd.
Tech
technically, i thought the changes in style were a little distracting; the genre switches were more jarring than in the first movie, plus the dialogue seemed (is this possible?) more stilted than the first, although this is quentin tarantino, so what do you want? his movies are always highly stylized mouthfuls, so ‘kill bill’ follows along nicely.
In summary…
if i had to choose one to watch, i (surprising myself here) would probably choose ‘vol. 1’ for it’s entertainment value (see this for my love of pure entertainment), although i think ‘vol. 2’ makes for a much better standalone film. i am looking forward to seeing ‘kill bill’ back to back so i can really feel the full story/character arc.
I suppose it’s no shock that I found Volume II to be more satisfying that Volume I. I even made it through the whole thing without falling asleep! =) While V1 has bigger and bloodier fights, I felt like the climactic battles in V2 were a bit less predictable and had an element of humor that was missing from the first film. The Vernita Green segment was just like, “Well… I have to kill someone first (even if it didn’t happen that way, chronologically).” and the Crazy 88’s / O-Ren? Well… I was into it for the first 20 kills or so, after that I was just thinking, “Man… There are way more than 88 of these guys. Get on with it!” In V2, however, the fights were short, sweet, and left me wanting more! I also really liked the denouement with Bill and BB and the truth serum etc., especially in light of some of the stuff I read (in Premiere? Rolling Stone?) about the tension between Quentin and Uma (and Ethan). It was interesting to wonder how much of his personal drama Quentin included in the screenplay (I’m guessing: a lot). =) Anyway, I too am anxiously awating the rumored “director’s cut” that will tie these two films together in an unrelenting orgy of action!