David Galindo
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2003
- Messages
- 1,264
[c]Kill Bill Volume 2 (UMD)
Region 1 • R • Dolby Surround • Available Now
[/c]
After the excellent quality of the Kill Bill Volume 1 UMD, it’s nice to see Buena Vista follow up with an excellent Volume 2 UMD, although it’s lacking behind Vol.1 by just a hair.
Thoughts on the Movie
I always thought it was pretty clever how Tarantino gave us the action film first in Volume 1, then followed it up with the story to flesh it out in Volume 2. I personally think 2 is the best, but they are both fantastic films.
Of course, we meet the best character of both films in Volume 2- Pai Mei. This guy is one of the fiercest masters I’ve seen in the movies, and the way he trains Kiddo to become the “deadliest woman in the world” is pretty agonizing. Heck, I just love this whole movie. There are some real genius moments, such as how someone is technically dead, but is still conscience and fine. How Tarantino acknowledges some devices in the movie are only meant to serve the plot, until we realize it’s only for our benefit, such as the truth serum (“How long does this take to work? Long enough to finish my point.”) How Kiddo leaves one of the assassins after disabling her. I could go on, but… well, you can only go so far before it sounds like someone gushing about their favorite film. It’s certainly in my top tiers of movies I’ve seen.
Many people disliked the film, and I can see why- it is almost nothing like its prequel. I can’t wait to see the eventual release of both films edited together on DVD, but as it stands these are two excellent movies that can stand on their own, yet need each other to make sense. Certainly you could go into Volume 2 without knowing anything about Volume 1, but why would you want to do that? (I say that these two movies are my favorite Tarantino films so far, but I’m sure you have your own opinion on all of that.)
Video Quality
Ahhh yeah. We get Kill Bill in its original aspect ratio of 2.35, and it looks really nice. The colors are very vibrant, the detail is perfect, but the black levels are still a bit too bright. But it still looks fantastic.
The DVD suffered from some compression and artifact problems that were most apparent in the training sequence (such as fighting in the shadows with the bright red background). They’re still present in this UMD, but only if you nearly press your face against the screen and look hard for it. The interesting thing is, the PSP’s resolution keeps the picture problems somewhat hidden, making this UMD look even better than the DVD! It might not be a fair assessment, but this is one of the few instances where the UMD prevails over the DVD.
4.5/5
Audio Quality
Oh man, this movie sounds loud and fantastic. Everything comes in clear, and the effects come in strong when they’re needed (such as the shotgun blast). For a real aural experience, watch the scene after the training montage with the volume full. It’s pretty awesome, and yet another solid audio delivery from Buena Vista.
5/5
Extras
The DVD of Volume 2 is a bit sparse on the extras, but the UMD is even more bare. We get one deleted scene, and that’s it. The only thing missing from the DVD to UMD is the musical performance of the end title sequence, and a couple of trailers. So it’s not quite as bad as it sounds… the deleted scene is pretty entertaining, at least (gotta love that guy’s Australian accent!). The menus are nice, and we get a chapter selection. Woo!
3/5
Overall…
It’s great to have both movies on UMD now. I’m sure one of these days I’ll have a Kill Bill back to back movie fest on the small screen, and it’s good to know both are of high quality. A great UMD that’s not quite as feature packed as the previous Volume 1 UMD, but great nonetheless.
4/5
Region 1 • R • Dolby Surround • Available Now
[/c]After the excellent quality of the Kill Bill Volume 1 UMD, it’s nice to see Buena Vista follow up with an excellent Volume 2 UMD, although it’s lacking behind Vol.1 by just a hair.
Thoughts on the Movie
I always thought it was pretty clever how Tarantino gave us the action film first in Volume 1, then followed it up with the story to flesh it out in Volume 2. I personally think 2 is the best, but they are both fantastic films.
Of course, we meet the best character of both films in Volume 2- Pai Mei. This guy is one of the fiercest masters I’ve seen in the movies, and the way he trains Kiddo to become the “deadliest woman in the world” is pretty agonizing. Heck, I just love this whole movie. There are some real genius moments, such as how someone is technically dead, but is still conscience and fine. How Tarantino acknowledges some devices in the movie are only meant to serve the plot, until we realize it’s only for our benefit, such as the truth serum (“How long does this take to work? Long enough to finish my point.”) How Kiddo leaves one of the assassins after disabling her. I could go on, but… well, you can only go so far before it sounds like someone gushing about their favorite film. It’s certainly in my top tiers of movies I’ve seen.
Many people disliked the film, and I can see why- it is almost nothing like its prequel. I can’t wait to see the eventual release of both films edited together on DVD, but as it stands these are two excellent movies that can stand on their own, yet need each other to make sense. Certainly you could go into Volume 2 without knowing anything about Volume 1, but why would you want to do that? (I say that these two movies are my favorite Tarantino films so far, but I’m sure you have your own opinion on all of that.)
Video Quality
Ahhh yeah. We get Kill Bill in its original aspect ratio of 2.35, and it looks really nice. The colors are very vibrant, the detail is perfect, but the black levels are still a bit too bright. But it still looks fantastic.
The DVD suffered from some compression and artifact problems that were most apparent in the training sequence (such as fighting in the shadows with the bright red background). They’re still present in this UMD, but only if you nearly press your face against the screen and look hard for it. The interesting thing is, the PSP’s resolution keeps the picture problems somewhat hidden, making this UMD look even better than the DVD! It might not be a fair assessment, but this is one of the few instances where the UMD prevails over the DVD.
4.5/5
Audio Quality
Oh man, this movie sounds loud and fantastic. Everything comes in clear, and the effects come in strong when they’re needed (such as the shotgun blast). For a real aural experience, watch the scene after the training montage with the volume full. It’s pretty awesome, and yet another solid audio delivery from Buena Vista.
5/5
Extras
The DVD of Volume 2 is a bit sparse on the extras, but the UMD is even more bare. We get one deleted scene, and that’s it. The only thing missing from the DVD to UMD is the musical performance of the end title sequence, and a couple of trailers. So it’s not quite as bad as it sounds… the deleted scene is pretty entertaining, at least (gotta love that guy’s Australian accent!). The menus are nice, and we get a chapter selection. Woo!
3/5
Overall…
It’s great to have both movies on UMD now. I’m sure one of these days I’ll have a Kill Bill back to back movie fest on the small screen, and it’s good to know both are of high quality. A great UMD that’s not quite as feature packed as the previous Volume 1 UMD, but great nonetheless.
4/5
