lucis

Just returned from the movie. It is about as different from Vol. 1 as possible. Very little action, no ruthless decapitation, no blood fountains. In its place we get true Tarantino style dialogue, long closeups, amazing acting, and lots of fun!

In true Tarantino fashion, the story keeps jumping between different time periods. Among other things, we get to see how the Bride trained in kung-fu, why Bill wants her killed, and how Elle lost her eye. The movie gets a little bit of a drag at times. It does require some patience to watch (somewhat like Reservoir Dogs). But on the whole, it is quite enjoyable.

Inspite of being really heavy on dialogue, the movie does have some really amazing action moments. There is this sequence where Beatrix (the bride) is being burried alive. Her coffin is first hammered shut, then lowered into the grave, and covered with earth. For the better part of this sequence, the screen goes completely blank, and we can hear her struggling, and mud filling the grave. This must rank among the best sequences in cinematic history, imo. This alone makes the movie worth watching. Absolutely brilliant use of sound and video.

Very often when I am watching the sequel of a great movie, I end up trying to its spots weak points while watching it. This happened a lot in LOTR 2 and 3, which made me not like the movie as much as the first. This did not happen with KB2 though. Instead of trying to find loopholes, I found myself really enjoying every minute of Tarantino’s magic!

I am finding it hard to decide which is better - Vol. 1 or 2. I really liked the camera work, the use of color, the brilliang Anime sequence, and even the intense action in the first. I loved the dialogues and the subtle humor in the second. I wonder why Tarantino decided to split the movie the way he did. Would it have been better a better balance of dialogue and action in both movies
instead? I dont know…

For the moment, I think I will prefer Vol. 1 over Vol. 2 - just for its anime sequence, if nothing else. But that might change when I watch Vol. 2 a second time though. I hope that a special director’s cut DVD is released that mixes the two movies in just the right way. If it is rightly done, we will have one of the best movies ever made!

I wanted to include some really cool quotes from the movie, but couldnt find a good source. Most are instant classics, and should be appearing at imdb, and other places pretty soon.

Click below for SPOILER

Interesting observation: The bride kills just one person (Bill) in Vol. 2 (as opposed to millions in the first volume).