Vol 2

I may be biased, but there is something about Quentin Tarantino's work that stirs my passion for movies unlike anything else. He is quite simply the greatest writer/director of a generation. His writing filmography contains so many defining movies that you have to ask the question "when will he screw up?".

Perhaps his biggest risk yet was the decision to split his samurai western martial arts revenge movie into two parts. Whether motivated by the films diversity or a realisation that twice as much money could be made at the box office, it was a decision that for me has paid off.

Volume 2 is a different movie to volume 1. In typical tarantino style volume 1 contained what would traditionally be the climatic fight scene. The culmination of the heroines lust for revenge. With the fight scene to end all fight scenes packed into volume 1, QT makes it abundantly clear that volume 2 is about story and character. That's not to say the fights, rare that they may be, aren't fantastic. It's just that we don't need it, because we've seen it before.

The characters are much deeper in Volume 2, yet it's Budd, rather than Bill that steals the show for me. So much so that I was left wanting to know why he turned out like he did.

Daryl Hannah proves that she can act and, along with Uma Thurman, provide one of the finest bitch fights (complete with cheesy insults) in recent memory. Meanwhile David Carradine shows us why Tarantino so desperately wanted him for the role of Bill. He gets the best of the trademark tarantino speeches and even finds time to liken The Bride to Superman. Oh yes, Tarantino gets to be geek again, with as many references to books, movies and comics as possible. Even the soundtrack feels like a collection of his favourite movie. And why not?

In the end Volume 2 feels much more like a typical tarantino movie, but unlike Empire Magazines Mark Dinning, I won't be marking the movie down for it.

---- Extract from Mark Dinning review ----

Had it come courtesy of almost any other director working today, Kill Bill Vol. 2 would most likely earn a further star on top of the three that follow. Unfortunately for QT, past glories demand he be measured by a tougher yardstick - the arrival of ‘a new Tarantino’ brings with it an unparalleled anticipation, a thirst that this time he never quite manages to quench.

---- END ---

To say that a director must be marked against a higher grade because of his past successes is appalling. Sadly, the little people at Empire seemed to have missed the point. For a much smarter review, check out The Guardians Peter Bradshaw.

Volume 2, is a remarkable feat of cinema. And the two films together illustrate just why I fell in love with the industry. If Volume 1 is an example of style over content, then volume 2 is the meat on the bones.

Volume 2 rating: 9/10 - The best movie of the year so far. This one is gonna be hard to beat.