I saw Kill Bill, Volume 1 in the theater because I had enjoyed previous Quentin Tarrantino films and all the reviewers guaranteed it was a spectacle only fit for the big screen. I enjoyed it quite a bit, despite a good deal of over-the-top gore, until we reached a point about 2/3 of the way thru the movie, which explained the origin of one of the bad girls: Oren Rishi. (Did I spell that right?) Anyway, the film suddenly switched to Anime (Japanese 2D animation) and it quickly became clear just why. You can show things in animation that the MPAA would never allow on film otherwise. And QT proceeded to show a few unspeakable things. At that point, I decided that no matter what else I heard, I was NOT going to see Kill Bill, Volume 2 in the theater. At least at home, you can hit the SKIP or FAST-FORWARD button when the director decides to dip into the worst sides of himself.
After many months of waiting, reading reviews from the not-so-reliable reviewers, and finally checking my own conscience to see if I could see the follow-up in good faith, I decided to get the DVD from NetFlix and see it. The reviews sounded like there were no anime-as-torture scenes, and that the film overall was more of a character piece. So I placed the order and watched it last night while suffering from some stress-induced insomnia. The verdict? Not bad and actually better than the first installment, but I am SO glad I didn't see it in the theater!
For those who may have forgotten, or who avoided these films altogether, the Kill Bill movies are a story of revenge of a woman known only as "The Bride" (well, mostly) whose wedding party were murdered in the chapel, and who was herself put into a coma for 4 years by her boss and friends from a former life as an assassin. After awakening, she seeks out each of the people who violated her wedding, ending up with her boss, the eponymous "Bill." Part One was a battle royale to prove "The Bride" was really, really tough. She fought a kunf-fu housewife, and 88 japanese mafia men, and won. (If you think that is a spoiler, obviously you missed the fact that "Volume 1" implies that there will be a "Volume 2" which pretty much requires the main character to be alive.) Part Two is more of an examination of the relationship with Bill, and the others she kills to get to him are pretty much there to show Bill's other sides. The good brother to his alcoholic sibling "Bud," the tend!
er lover to his new squeeze "Elle," and another "nice guy" side for a character I will not reveal here. Each battle is unique to film (at least the films I have seen) and brutal in ways only QT brings to the screen. But it also has a strong story, and deep character moments. This is not a bad film at all. And there is virtually no chance that it will NOT be a standard for future films to come.
However, there is that ONE moment that our readers should be aware of, which might keep some away. I am claustrophobic - brought on by being trapped on a bus for 12 hours when I was a teenager. Well, I had a very hard time watching a scene in which "The Bride" is buried alive, and the viewer is invited to share every moment of the entombing, the burying, and the eventual face-to-face confrontation with suffocation and immanent death in a dark, closed-in place. I was thankful for the pause button, and the ability to look away while watching this in my own house. In a theater, this would likely have been nigh-unto-overwhelming, and I would have had to walk out and argue with a manager for my money back. Readers beware. But at least there is no anime this time around.
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