In the first supplement on this disc, Quentin Tarantino succinctly explains that Vol. 1 asks the questions and Vol. 2 answers them. For those familiar with Kill Bill Vol. 1, I could end my plot summary there; Tarantino could not have been more on target with his characterization. But for those who may have been patiently waiting for both chapters in The Bride’s saga to be available before plopping down in front of your display to enjoy this thoroughly entertaining ride, a few remarks may be appropriate. Allow me to begin by paraphrasing some of my review of Vol. 1.

This is a deceptively simple story of retribution. The Bride (Uma Thurman) lies on her back on a dusty wooden floor, bloodied and gasping for air, her distended abdomen ripe with an unborn child. The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad has invaded her wedding; it systematically slaughters everyone in the little Texas chapel. We hear the voice of the man responsible - we’ll learn that his name is simply Bill (David Carradine) - and read the fear in The Bride’s eyes as, after a short preamble, he puts a bullet in her brain. So opens Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 1 and if you’re not immediately hooked, leave the room now.

The Bride survives, spending four years in a coma before waking to discover that she’s no longer pregnant. The shock of that loss compounds the vivid memories of the massacre. She has no idea how long she’s been unconscious, but she quickly recovers her composure and determines to take brutal revenge on those responsible. Anyone who violates her or stands between her and her goal will pay the ultimate price. She travels to Okinawa to seek out Hattori Hanzo (Sonny Chiba), a retired craftsman and legendary fashioner of the finest Samurai swords. Once armed, she begins to hunt down the people on her death list: O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), Budd (Michael Madsen), Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) and, of course, Bill.

The bride dispatches some of her targets in Vol. 1, and the collateral damage is truly impressive. The bloodletting is of biblical proportions. The violence is so exaggerated that one cannot mistake it for anything but satire and homage to the martial arts genre. Vol. 2 has a much different tone. Where Vol. 1 established the premise through intense action, Vol. 2 resolves the premise through dialog and plot punctuated by smaller action set pieces. The body count is a mere fraction of Vol. 1’s. There are wonderful exchanges of delightfully written dialog, exposition, and confrontation that act to propel the story forward and answer the questions left unresolved in the first film. True to his predilection for non-linear storytelling, Tarantino uses flashbacks to enrich our knowledge of the characters. The Bride is mercilessly brutalized in Vol. 2, but she stubbornly refuses to die; she will not rest until she’s had her revenge.

The performances by the principal players are quite superb. Michael Madsen and Daryl Hannah may not have much screen time, but they bring a visceral intensity to their roles. David Carradine is quietly vicious as Bill, but he infuses his character with a humanity and vulnerability that almost transcends his evil. Uma Thurman is a wonder, vulnerable and deadly; we must all finally forgive her for The Avengers. This is easily Quentin Tarantino’s best work to date, the fusion of his cinematic passions and a testament to great storytelling conveyed with an exquisite sense of style and pace. The unpredictability of the plotline kept me in a state of high tension until an unexpected climax took me by surprise. This may not be high art, but it’s highly entertaining.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 is presented in a simply wonderful high definition transfer compressed with the AVC video CODEC. My reactions are identical to those while watching Vol. 1. Bright, vivid splashes of color. Startling vividness. Skin tones are very natural and the copious buckets of blood are convincingly crimson. Excellent shadow detail. Commendable small object detail and finely gained textures. Buena Vista has provided us with yet another exceptional transfer.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

There is only one track, and it’s just as impressive as on Vol. 1. The uncompressed PCM 5.1 has very active surround channels used with equal wit. EX decoding is a must for the best experience. Again, exceptionally deep bass may be heard mostly from the musical source elements. Modern recordings of sound effects are very convincing. Dialog remains clear and clean throughout with persuasive timbre, but my complaint about Thurman’s voiceover remains: too much upper bass, imparting an unpleasant boominess. And, as you’d expect, my complaint about the musical source tracks also remains: too loud when the other elements are at a normal volume.

Optional subtitles are available in English SDH and Spanish.

The Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

The Making of Kill Bill Vol. 2 featurette (26:03, 1.33:1, SD) may be promotional, but it is also informative and entertaining. Tarantino discusses his artistic approach and the structures of the two films. As you’d expect, we also hear from the principal players as they discuss their impressions of the film and their experiences of working with Tarantino. The featurette is punctuated with excerpts from the film, and must be saved for after the feature to avoid spoilers. We don’t get much insight into Tarantino’s approach behind the camera, but we do get to enjoy his sheer delight in the process of filmmaking.

Chingon Performance from the Kill Bill Vol. 2 Premiere (11:32, non-anamorphic widescreen) is the equivalent of the music videos you find on other DVDs. We hear from Robert Rodriguez who introduces and participates in the live performances.

And then there is the Damoe Deleted Scene (3:37, 2.35:1, SD) in which, during better times, Bill and The Bride (yes, you will discover her name in this film, and I’m not sure why it was kept a secret) are attacked by sword-wielding thugs on an Asian street. The satirical style is very much in the spirit of the first film, so I can readily understand why it may have been cut from the second.

The 137-minute feature film is organized into nineteen chapters.

Final Thoughts

The film did not end as I expected, and I was surprised at the level of my emotional satisfaction. The supplements are a tad thin, but once again the video and audio qualities are commendable. This is deliciously entertaining romp is easy to recommend, not too surprising considering that I recommended Vol. 1 highly. Excuse me for stating the obvious, but if you enjoyed Vol. 1, this disc is a must-buy.


Here’s a note about the apparent duplicate Buy Guide. Our I.T. people are still hard at work on a large project and have not yet had the time to modify the underlying site database formatting code to accommodate the new 0-to-10 rating scales. So until they do, for HD on disc, I’ll insert this note and a Buy Guide at the end of the review text and leave the conventional 0-to-5 Buy Guide blank.