Looking back upon my initial review for Kill Bill: Volume One, I see it as the better of the two films.  Sure the martial arts scenes were competitive but at least there was some action.  There are few fight scenes in Kill Bill: Volume Two and even they are an anticlimax.  Especially that grand finale when Uma gets to “kill Bill”.  During the close credits, there are a few glimpses back at what the first film had to offer.  They serve as a reminder to the audience of what film one offered and what film two didn’t.

What I praised about the initial flick was director Quentin Tarantino’s style.  But the flair which dazzled me then doesn’t seem as impressive now.  Perhaps because I’ve seen it once before.  I fear retribution for making these statements because clearing the film has a following.  On the Internet Movie Database, the public has already ranked it within the top 250 of all time.  I am very much a Tarantino fan and thought I would feel the same way but alas, I do not.

The film picks up where the last one left off.  There’s a lengthy introduction first though to show us why and how Beatrix Kiddo (Thurman) was slain in the wedding chapel by Bill (Carradine) and the rest of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad.  The next stop for Beatrix is Budd (Madsen) follwed by Elle (Hannah) and then Bill.  Tarantino likes casting “washed up” actors in his films with Carradine, Hannah and Madsen clearly fit into that category.  They do give good performances and I loved the slow talking style of Carradine and friend Esteban Vihaio (played by Esteban Vihaio).

I believe the conclusion to be limp.  Is there something Tarantino is trying to say?  I was looking for a big bang of a finish but instead found little more than a long winded conversation.  Not sure why.  As I’ve said, others love the film so maybe they can tell me where I have gone wrong with my thinking.  But as it currently stands, I can’t find a strong enough reason to recommend Kill Bill: Volume Two.