Classroom Publication

Issue date: 5/3/04 Section: Entertainment Industry

Media Credit: Courtesy Miramax Films Uma Thurman is the world´s most skilled assassin in Quentin Tarentino´s instant classic "Kill Bill Vol. 2"

If you're a big fan of director Quentin Tarantino and 1970's kung-fu flicks, you'll find little wrong with "Kill Bill Vol. 2." Tarentino mixes in jokes, highly skilled choreographed fighting sequences, great dialogue, an odd and eclectic soundtrack and beautiful cinematography.

In true Tarantino style, the movie doesn't pick up right where the Vol. 1 left off. At the end of Vol. 1, we learn from Bill (David Carradine) that The Bride's (Uma Thurman) daughter is alive. Vol. 2 starts with The Bride driving, presumably on her way to kill Bill. Tarantino then takes us back to the beginning, with the massacre of The Bride and her wedding party, then weaves and twists until he reaches the final scene.

Though the plot of Kill Bill Vol. 2 is the overused story plot, Tarantino makes it work. He is able to create anticipation that is not forced, but comes naturally through the way he slices and dices the chronology.

The wedding rehearsal scene was slow and could have been cut, because it didn't add anything to story that we didn't already know or will eventually get to know. What was good about the scene was the cinematography. Shot in grainy black and white film, Tarantino gives the gritty, realistic impression of a western.

Woo-Ping Yuen expertly choreographs the fight scenes. The first of the three fight scenes in movie is between Pei Mei (Chia Hui Liu) and The Bride. In this part of the film, we see how driven The Bride was in becoming the best assassin in the world. In an homage to the kung fu movies from the 70's, Tarantino shoots the film with the same grittiness.

Unlike the first movie, Vol. 2 has only one gory scene: the fight between The Bride and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah). The highly anticipated final fight scene between Bill and The Bride is not as violent as one might expect.

In the most important way, this movie was not just about The Bride's quest for revenge. Tarantino subtly forms a love story between The Bride and Bill. It is not until the final scenes that we realize that love was the motive for Bill's treachery. In Bill's words: "I'm a killer, a murderous bastard. You know that. And there are consequences to breaking the heart of a murderous bastard?"

Tarantino manages to fit in jokes that only true fans of all things kung-fu will appreciate, like Pei Mei's costume, similar to that of the '70's kung-fu movies.

"Kill Bill Vol. 2" is one of Tarantino's best films, and I can't wait until the DVD is released for all of the extra footage.

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