DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Kill Bill Volume 2 (1 Viewer)

[RyanAn]

Thank you for the review. I personally liked the second volume a little more than the first. The dialouge that I was waiting for... Perfect! I will be more than happy to double-dip.

Ryan

 

[Rodney Martin]

Bill is boring as hell in volume 2 but has screen presence in volume 1. It's all very well to say that volume 1 didnt have enough dialogue, but the increased dialogue doesnt make Volume 2 a better film. Fightclub has plenty of dialogue but I find sitting through the movie absolute torture, Ed Norton droning on and on, is incredibly boring.
Besides the problems I have with Bill, I also didnt like the Bud character, we're supposed to believe this guy that travelled round the world earning millions as a top assassin is now reduced to a fat slob living in a crap caravan & cleaning shitty toilets in a titty bar that has no customers. The fight scene with el driver was diabolical, i was expecting far more from this battle. The part where she visits that mexican pimp guy to find out where bill is, was pointless stupidity, she could have found out where bill is in numerous ways without that silly drawn out scene.

I did like the training scenes with Pai Mei though, one of the saving graces of this movie.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

That composer is film Director Robert Rodriguez.

Regards,

 

[BennyD]

Didn't see any mention in the bargain thread, so I figured I'd post it here.

From the flyer this morning, it looks like Best Buy is offering a promotional slipsleave to hold both volumes with the original poster art from the first volume (sword and scarf) if you buy one of the volumes. It looks pretty nice. From the small print it appears that each store will be getting 50.

 

[GuruAskew]

You can also order it for $8 w/ free shipping online if you're like me and you don't have a local Best Buy.

 

[Leon Liew]

'Bill is boring as hell in volume 2 so is Kwai Chang Caine
in Kungfu'

 

[Paul D G]

I disagree with the Bill is boring comments. He comes across as a mentor, the wise leader. You already know he's lethal by reputation. It doesn't need to be shown. He could snap your arm and ram your nose into your brain without breaking a sweat. This allows us to see him with greater dimension than, say, Budd.

Speaking of Budd, I never got the impression he made millions of dollars. Bill might have as leader. Why is he working in a titty bar as a bouncer? Retired. Blew his cash on gambling, drugs and women. After all, he offered to sell B's sword for a million $. It's not like he has the qualifications to get a job as a banker.

-paul

 

[DaViD Boulet]

DVD talk's video impressions are very similar to my own (from link posted in earlier thread):

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=11838


Still not a perfect image, but clearly (pun intended) better than Volume 1.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Well, I really liked Vol. 1 -- and I LOVED Vol. 2 even more. I'm anticipating that both parts joined together, as a massive Epic one day, will be a truly great action/revenge masterpiece.

 

[MuneebM]

Just picked up my copy of Volume 2 on Saturday and watched it the same night: I don't know about everyone else, but I found the DTS track made very little use of the surround field. I much preferred the DTS track of Volume 1.

http://66.46.69.23/sigserv/pl/index.pl?p=30
My DVD Collection

 

[Craig Perrin]

I got the impression that Budd was the only one of the group that realized the wrongness of what they did; murdering people. Not that he wouldn't do it, rather he just acknowledged to himself that it was wrong, hence his living in squalor and working at a crappy job was a self-inflicted punishment for his life of sins.

Budd's line at the end of Vol I: "That woman deserves her revenge... And we... We deserve to die", and they way its cut in just as the music comes in, sent chills down my spine the first time I heard it. An absolutely perfect line.

 

[Rob Pritchard]

Yeah, a good observation Craig, plus the fact that the reason Budd makes the Bride suffer is because he's avenging the heartbreak she caused his brother. I get the impression that some viewers might not have gotten that when they saw Vol 2.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Given the discussion about Budd, I read the review on DVD Journal that expressed my view about Budd with much more eloquence than I could summon up.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Agreed. But when he actually says this 'officially' in Vol. 2, he laughs and adds: "...but then again, so does she!"

 

[Cassy_w]

And she does. They all do. They were all killers.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Well....

I planned on watching Kill Bill 2 for the
very first time today -- but not before taking a
another look at Kill Bill.

This was the perfect opportunity not only to watch
both films back-to-back, but to have a first-look
at the Japanese [/i]"House of The Blue Leaves"[/i]
cut of the original film.

The Japanese version of Kill Bill looks
incredible. It was a pleasure watching this film
for a second time and I couldn't help but think that
Tarantino is a genuinely gifted director.

Watching the infamous B&W fight sequences of the R1
release now in COLOR, I was quite
disappointed with the MPAA's demand to have Tarantino
dumb it all down. Why would the ratings board be so
offended by all the blood? There was nothing in that
sequence any more shocking than what was shown already.

On the plus side, the Japanese release is gorgeous
and I would recommend it to everyone.

Now on to Kill Bill 2....

I am going to be in the minority here I am certain,
but I was highly let down by this film.

In a word: BORING

After finding Kill Bill to be one of the most
incredibly stirring well-paced martial-arts films from
the insane mind of Quentin Tarantino, I couldn't believe
that Kill Bill 2 was from the same genes.

Slow, lackluster, dull. These are probably the best
words to describe this mess.

It's hard to compare the quality of the KB2
DVD after watching the import version of Kill Bill.
Most of the desert scenes look dull. There are a lot
of B&W sequences. There is no glitz here that can be
showed off in the transfer. Yes, the transfer looks
generally good, but none of it has the eye-candy of
the original film.

Didn't notice any pronounced surround activity in
the DTS soundtrack.

Sorry folks, I just did not like this film. What's
very sad to me is knowing that both these films were
originally supposed to stand as one. BIG MISTAKE.
The first film held its own quite well. It could
almost be called a masterpiece. To incorporate any of
the dullness of the second film into the first would
have ruined the pacing and the entire film itself.

I am sure there are many who won't agree, but that's
why we encourage friendly debate here.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Ron, when I first saw Vol. 2 in theatres, I felt the same as you did. Prior to going I had just re-watched Volume 1 and was expecting something similar. By comparison, I felt a lot of PART 2 was dull and needed trimming.

After I thought about it, I realized I was expecting it to feel too much like the first half (VOL 1), so I saw it a second time at the movies the next day with a different attitude. MAJOR improvement, and I loved it! Complete day and night difference, and I found it to be even better than the first chapter.

How much did I love Part 2 the second time? So much that I went to the movies a total of NINE times (a record for me) and I have come to think of Part 2 as Tarantino's best film. There were all sorts of little nuances, dialogue and music cues I totally missed the first time, as I had been too busy wondering where all the sword fighting had gone.

I am 100% in favor of Quentin issuing this as the complete 4 hour "epic," and then I believe it will be what I consider his masterpiece. "KILL BILL: THE COMPLETE EPIC" will be one of the greatest films ever made, IMO.

See it again. Wait a while. Forget VOL. 1 when you do, take part 2 on its own. If you come to like it for what it is, then you'll see how great the two go together. In the long run, that's why it may have been a good idea to get accustomed to these as separate films; by accepting each on its own terms and maybe coming to enjoy both, it'll be a real whopper when it's edited together!

 

[DaViD Boulet]

While personally I enjoyed the 2nd film more (who knows...might have felt differently had I just watched kb1)...I think that the emphasis on character depth and story worked better for me than the "glitz" of the fist film, I entirely agree with Ron in this comment. The two films feel very different from each other in style...I can't imagine how they would constitute a single continuous movie...unless it was clearly understood that "part A" of the movie was one style and "part B" of the movie another...but isn't that really two movies just presented back-to-back with no credits in between?

Great to hear how good the Japanese version is. Is the picture softness of the American release improved upon as well?

Joe...NINE times??!!??

-dave

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Yes, Dave - literally - and nine times in nine days, no less! It's a record for me in my 40+ years, one I don't think I'll ever break, and I'm glad it was with KILL BILL VOL. 2 (a worthy choice).

I wasn't working at the time, so I had the opportunity! Sheer magic, that film. And I became more aware than ever before that the more you see a movie, the more you feel what it's really all about, the more you catch everything.

It made me appreciate more than ever just how at a disadvantage so many of the movies we see may be with only one unsatisfactory viewing.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Well, yes, but some of the padding would be removed (like Bill questioning Sophie and revealing that her daughter is still alive - which would have benefited PART 2 had we not already known) and that needless "Uma driving prologue".
I know the following is anal, but I'd also think the end credits where we see the montage would be even more impressive after watching the whole epic straight through.

I wonder if the second half would have "dragged" if it was the 4 hour edition? I don't think so, because after the fight with O-ren you're kind of ready for a breather, or at least I was. Then we proceed into the "how and why" details, the more cerebral stuff. But we also return to fighting with Elle Driver which just may be the best fight of the whole film, for me.