20th Anniversary TLDR: Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)
I've killed a hell of a lot of people to get to this point, but I have only one more.
Plot: The Bride unwaveringly continues on her roaring rampage of revenge against the band of assassins who had tried to kill her and her unborn child. She visits each of her former associates one-by-one, checking off the victims on her Death List Five until there’s nothing left to do but kill Bill.
Direction & Screenplay: In my memory, Volumes 1 and 2 were two very distinct movies. That is somewhat true, of course, because the first part is primarily an action/martial arts film, while the second part is considerably less violent, instead opting to wrap up the emotional parts of the story. But it is so clearly just one movie that I don't know if I'll ever be able to watch them separately again. I really want to see The Whole Bloody Affair, which I think would fix some of the pacing issues I have with it. I used to prefer the first half, but that's probably because I was a teenage boy. The second half is the heart.
Performances: How did this movie (especially the first part) not make Uma Thurman the biggest action star in the world? Did she just not want that? She kills it. And Bill. I don't seem to have the same affinity for Michael Madsen or Daryl Hannah that Tarantino has, but that's my problem. I miss Vivica A. Fox.
Cinematography: See Volume 1 review.
Best Moment: Escaping the coffin.
Fun Fact: In high school, I let a friend borrow my double feature DVD of Kill Bill. I have no ideay why, but I never spoke to him again, much less saw that disc again. Maybe he was working on this friendship for years just for a free copy of Kill Bill.
Imaginary Accolade: Best Movie Called. "Vol. 2" I've Ever Seen (it's also the only one I've ever seen, as I haven't watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Nymphomaniac: Vol. II, or any others)
Everything is too long! Is it too long? The first time I watched Kill Bill, I was probably 13 or so, sitting in a friend’s basement. We watched both volumes back-to-back. I had no patience for it, largely because of the tonal shift. When you watch them like that, you definitely notice the 25-minute difference in the runtimes. If you were watching it as one film (again, I want to see The Whole Bloody Affair), I think you wouldn't even notice the time. Can you believe it? I'm actually saying that an intermission hurts this film!
Rating: The second half of a good movie!
Credit: Plot synopsis from Letterboxd via TMDb.