Kill Bill: Vol. 2 Movie Review

Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

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Written by: Quentin Tarantino, Q (Quentin Tarantino) & U (Uma Thurman) (the character The Bride)
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine
Rated: R
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Plot
The Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.

Verdict
It's difficult to discuss this without talking about Vol. 1. You can't divorce these movies. They're apt for comparison, but they do a good job of standing alone. This one slows down the pace and provides the big conclusion and more background. I still prefer Vol. 1 more, but with both movies Tarantino takes the very low budget action movie genre and elevates it to something that feels legitimate.This is style over substance, and he does an amazing job.
It depends.

Review
Since I just finished Vol. 1, I had to watch Vol. 2. This one does a solid job of standing alone, it can't quite do it as well as Vol. 1 does though.

Uma Thurman plays The Bride.

This recaps the first movie because you have to. We also get the history of the wedding rehearsal. It's a nice point in this movie and the overall arc to recount the events. From that point it's on to more revenge.

Both movies work surprisingly well on their own or even as a sequel. At over four hours, I can't imagine watching this in one go.
A lot of my review from the first one still applies here. This continues the same style, and what Tarantino accomplishes is very impressive. For both movies I love what Tarantino accomplishes, but I only moderately like the movies. I don't like the flourishes inherit in the genre.

David Carradine and Uma Thurman play The Bride and Bill.

Pai Mei is odd, but it's not the first oddity in the franchise. He seems ancient and his ability is almost preternatural. It pushes my suspension of disbelief just a bit, but he does serve a vital purpose.

This movie is a bit slower and more emotional. The big conclusion is a lot more talking that you might expect. There's more history to cover and a lot of exposition to get there. This one is more focused on the Bride, whereas the first movie was all about revenge. This movie does reveal the Bride's name which had been bleeped out whenever mentioned.
I like Vol. 1 better partly because it does have a better pacing. This gets a bit long with big reveals and a lot more dialog. Taking Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 as a single film the structure completely works, though it is very long.

Tarantino has mentioned a sequel numerous times over the years since this released, but nothing has materialized as of yet. He even floated the idea that Vernita Green's daughter could grow up and seek revenge.