Martial Movie Mania!
Behold, the sequel to a movie review! I have transcended time and space to bring continuity unto you all. Or, in common speech, I watched another movie, and now I can review it for you, and you can read it and be happy pandas. Right? Right!
Kill Bill, Vol. 2
The first half of this movie came out in October some time. I summed up the basic premise here- Quentin makes long movie, studios think it's too long, he cuts it in half and releases two movies. Poof- Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2. 'Nuff said.
Is Quentin Tarantino really a God of Moviemaking? No. I like his movies, but they're not the be-all and end-all of movies. They're just fun. Kill Bill is a fun movie, without a doubt. Action and killing and more action and more killing and swords. I really can't complain about very much here. It's described as a "tribute" to old-school martial arts flicks, including The Seven Samurai, Shogun Assassin, Ichi The Killer, Fist of the White Lotus and many others. "Tribute" sometimes means "plagiarizing scenes", but I think that falls under artistic license or some such jabber. Whatever. If it's fun, I can't knock it.
The plot: Uma Thurman continues to exact bloody revenger on a bunch of people who did her wrong.
The pros: The movie is fairly consistent in large and small details, something difficult to manage for most films. The action sequences are again well-choreographed and fun to watch. The flashback scenes are deliberately shot in lower quality film to make them "feel" older. All the actors and actresses play their parts extremely well- Darryl Hannah is the coldest and most clinical of the killers; David Carradine is cunning and compassionate and cruel all at once; Michael Madsen plays the "fallen assassin" to the hilt. Gordon Liu is probably the highlight of this film, as the old teacher Pai Mei. He is the icon of all "old martial arts masters" from every chop-socky kung fu film ever made. I bet he got $10000 every time he swished his white Fu Manchu beard. Lo Pan himself could not have done it better.
The cons: This half of the film is different from the first half. The fight scenes are fewer, and shorter. There is much more focus on the story, the background, and the characters. While this is not a bad thing, I suspect that, had the film been released as a whole, Tarantino would have mixed the scenes up a lot more to give a better balance of action and plot. Instead I think we got the best action in the first movie, and all the plot in the second. Not quite the ideal breakdown. And the final battle is, in my opinion, too "cheap". It is over almost before you can get a feel for it, and it is finished in a way that is so poorly telegraphed that it's unforgivable.
The verdict: I would have had no problem seeing this film as one big show. I think it would actually have gone over better. Nonetheless, if you like martial arts films, swords, and bloody killing, this is a pretty good choice for you.
Disclaimer: Lucy Liu is still ugly. She wasn't even in this movie, but she is just plain ugly. I really can't state that enough. Darryl Hannah was hot, though. Even with only one eye. Ruff, ruff.
Kill Bill, Vol. 2
The first half of this movie came out in October some time. I summed up the basic premise here- Quentin makes long movie, studios think it's too long, he cuts it in half and releases two movies. Poof- Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2. 'Nuff said.
Is Quentin Tarantino really a God of Moviemaking? No. I like his movies, but they're not the be-all and end-all of movies. They're just fun. Kill Bill is a fun movie, without a doubt. Action and killing and more action and more killing and swords. I really can't complain about very much here. It's described as a "tribute" to old-school martial arts flicks, including The Seven Samurai, Shogun Assassin, Ichi The Killer, Fist of the White Lotus and many others. "Tribute" sometimes means "plagiarizing scenes", but I think that falls under artistic license or some such jabber. Whatever. If it's fun, I can't knock it.
The plot: Uma Thurman continues to exact bloody revenger on a bunch of people who did her wrong.
The pros: The movie is fairly consistent in large and small details, something difficult to manage for most films. The action sequences are again well-choreographed and fun to watch. The flashback scenes are deliberately shot in lower quality film to make them "feel" older. All the actors and actresses play their parts extremely well- Darryl Hannah is the coldest and most clinical of the killers; David Carradine is cunning and compassionate and cruel all at once; Michael Madsen plays the "fallen assassin" to the hilt. Gordon Liu is probably the highlight of this film, as the old teacher Pai Mei. He is the icon of all "old martial arts masters" from every chop-socky kung fu film ever made. I bet he got $10000 every time he swished his white Fu Manchu beard. Lo Pan himself could not have done it better.
The cons: This half of the film is different from the first half. The fight scenes are fewer, and shorter. There is much more focus on the story, the background, and the characters. While this is not a bad thing, I suspect that, had the film been released as a whole, Tarantino would have mixed the scenes up a lot more to give a better balance of action and plot. Instead I think we got the best action in the first movie, and all the plot in the second. Not quite the ideal breakdown. And the final battle is, in my opinion, too "cheap". It is over almost before you can get a feel for it, and it is finished in a way that is so poorly telegraphed that it's unforgivable.
The verdict: I would have had no problem seeing this film as one big show. I think it would actually have gone over better. Nonetheless, if you like martial arts films, swords, and bloody killing, this is a pretty good choice for you.
Disclaimer: Lucy Liu is still ugly. She wasn't even in this movie, but she is just plain ugly. I really can't state that enough. Darryl Hannah was hot, though. Even with only one eye. Ruff, ruff.