KILL BILL: VOL. 2 (2004)
MORGAN'S RATING
Continuing the storyline that started in Kill Bill Volume 1, this is the story of an assassin called The Bride who sets out to wreak revenge upon her former employer, Bill and other members of their assassin circle, for shooting her at her wedding (along with everyone else) and leaving her for dead.
Uma Thurman (The Bride/Black Mamba), David Carradine (Bill), Michael Madsen (Budd), Daryl Hannah (Elle Driver), Chia Hui Liu (Johnny Mo / Pai Mei), Michael Parks (Esteban Vihaio), Perla Haney-Jardine (B.B.), Christopher Allen Nelson (Tommy Plympton), Bo Svenson (Rev. Harmony), Jeannie Epper (Mrs. Harmony), Claire Smithies (Clarita), Clark Middleton (Ernie), Larry Bishop (Larry Gomez), Sid Haig (Jay the Bartender), Red Beebe (Lucky), Samuel L. Jackson (Rufus, the Organ Player), Caitlin Keats (Janeen), Laura Cayouette (Rocket), Lucy Liu (O-Ren Ishii), Stevo Polyi (Tim), Shana Stein (Erica), Vanessia Valentio (First Grade Teacher).
REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD.
PRODUCTION INFORMATION
DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Kill Bill Vol. 1).
WRITERS: Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman.
PRODUCER: Lawrence Bender.
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Koko Maeda.
ASSISTANT PRODUCER: Kwame Parker.
ORIGINAL MUSIC: RZA, Johnny Cash and Robert Rodriguez. 
DISTRIBUTOR: Miramax Films.
QUOTES
Budd: Wake-y wake-y, eggs and bac-y.
Bill: [dying] How do I look?
The Bride: You look ready.
FACTS
Ellie Driver: She must suffer to her last breath.
RELEASE DATE: April 16th, 2004 (USA)
DVD RELEASE DATE: August 10th, 2004 (USA)
BOX OFFICE OPENING: $25.1 million (USA)
BOX OFFICE RESULT: $66.2 million* (USA)
BUDGET: $30 million (USA)
SHOOTING DATES: June 2002 -- March 2003
- The chapter "Yuki's Revenge" was cut from filming to accommodate a new chapter, "Massacre at Two Pines" that details the attack on The Bride.
- Also changed from the original script -- the story of Pai Mei is no longer told in a Jeep on the way to the cruel master's temple. Rather, it is now unfolded in front of a campfire somewhere in the Chinese countryside, the night before Bill and The Bride arrive. With the aid of a flute (one of the silent flutes from Circle of Iron), Bill tells the tale of Pei Mei in a "Peter and the Wolf" type fashion.
- The Lonely Grave of Paula Schultz is Chapter 8 of
Kill Bill. There is a movie with the title Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968), a romantic comedy starring Elke Sommer as Paula and Bob Crane as Bill.
- Tarantino wrote a brand new scene in the middle of filming (in a spiral notebook in orange felt tip, no less) that replaces the gambling scene with L.F. O'Boyle. The new sequence is a flashback of the first assassination that The Bride ever saw Bill carry out.
- The character of Pai Mei appears in several Shaw Bros Kung Fu films from the 1970s-80s including Hung wen tin san po pai lien chiao (1980). Pai Mei means "White Eyebrow".
- Stay through the credits for a blooper scene from the first film.
- Quentin Tarantino pays homage to his first film
Reservoir Dogs (1992) twice in this film: First, the Bride pulls a single blade razor from her cowboy boot which is a direct homage to Mr. Blonde in RD who pulls a razor from his cowboy boot in the infamous ear scene. Second, when the Bride and Bill are talking, Bill says that he hears a gunshot to the kneecap is quite painful. In RD, Wr. White says to Mr. Orange, "Aisde from the kneecap, the gut is the most painful area a guy can get shot in."
- The large wooden flute played by Bill (David Carradine) resembles the same instrument Carradine plays as Kwai Chang Caine in 'Kung Fu' (1972).
- The license plate on Bill's jeep is THX1169, an apparant tongue-in-cheek homage to director George Lucas.
- Robert Rodriguez scored this movie for $1. Quentin Tarantino said he would repay him by directing a segment of Rodriguez's project
Sin City (2005) for $1.
Budd: That woman deserves her revenge...and we deserve to die. [laughs] But then again, so does she.
The Bride: You and I have some unfinished business.
Bill: Baby, you ain't kidding.
[Elle's phone rings, she answers]
Elle: Bill.
Budd: Wrong brother, ya hateful bitch.
Bill: I guess I overreacted.
The Bride: You '*overreacted*?
Bill: I'm a killer. A murdering bastard, you know that. And there are consequences to breaking the heart of a murdering bastard.
Bill: I'm a killer. A murdering bastard, you know that. And there are consequences to breaking the heart of a murdering bastard.
Bill: Clark Kent was Superman's take on humanity.
Elle: That's right. I killed your master. And now I'm gonna kill you, with your own sword, no less, which in the very immediate future, will become...my sword.
The Bride: Bitch, you don't have a future.
Bill: You're a natural born killer.
Elle: Now, you might want to pay attention, because this concerns you...
Pai Mei: From here you can get an excellent view of my foot.
CRITICAL COMMENTS
"A powerhouse movie." -- John Anderson, Newsday
"The second movie is less kinetic but more satisfying." -- James Berardinelli, Reelviews
"A dulling experience that can safely be admired from afar without it ever engaging the senses." -- Jami Bernard, New York Daily News
"A film richer in every way than its illustrious, callow predecessor." -- Ty Burr, Boston Globe
"A rip-roaring, highly entertaining, extremely enjoyable continuation to Vol. 1." -- Paul Clinton, CNN
"A gargantuanly entertaining double feature." -- Richard Corliss, Time Magazine
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