After the action-packed grindfest that was #1, Quentin Tarantino favors a quiet, more restrained film for #2. Turning its head away from the action toward something more deep (though there is still several thrilling sequences), Tarantino presents his most matured work to date. The tale of an unnamed woman scorned letting all hell loose on those who did her in segways into a deliriously gripping battle of the wits in the film's final sequence: when Bill (David Carradine) and Beatrix (Uma Thurman) go face to face. Bill ends up the most suave and surprisingly likable really, really bad guy to hit the screen in ages. His monologue on Superman/Clark Kent is a thoughtful example on the way Tarantino surprises us with hidden depth on both characters' parts. An Oscar-nomination for Carradine is in order. Thurman, proving her able range throughout the entire saga, is again excellent but the actress's nimble ability to go elegantly over the top was best put to use in Volume 1. In the first film, Tarantino gives us a warrior with amazing skill. In the second, he presents a bruised woman hanging on by a thread, but not giving up. The second one wins out. The "Whole Bloody Affair"'s best sequence occurs in Volume 2: the chapter called "Elle and I." In this chapter, Beatrix matches wits with her assassin equivalent, Elle Driver. Having just dispatched Budd, Driver is ready to collect her money and get out. Back from the grave, Kiddo bursts in and begins a fast-paced, furiously funny fight scene that tops everything in the entire saga. A smart and simplistic ending to that fight may be the series most crowd pleasing moment. Hannah deserves some kind of award for her hysterical rendition of the line "I killed your master."
There are numerous other memorable scenes in the film, but chances are you already know what they are. (My second fave is Uma crawling out of Paula Schult's grave. Empowered music!) Volume 2 is ultimately a more satisfying chapter, and with rumors of a Volume 3 10 years down the line (Nikki Vs. Beatrix!), it is more than enough to keep this film fan satisfied for the next decade.
Then again, according to some people I'm just saying this all cause I want to jerk Tarantino off or some other bullshit excuse/whining cause they didn't like it and are sick of everyone else doing so. Too bad.
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