There exist certain undisputable truths of Hollywood, one of which being Quentin Tarantino as a love-him-or-hate-him director. ?Pulp Fiction,? depending on whom you talk to, was sensational or swill. ?Reservoir Dogs,? same story. ?Kill Bill Vol. 1,? with its gore and action-oriented design, was much the same. But as we all learned in spaghetti Westerns, laws were meant to be broken. And the recent release of ?Kill Bill Vol. 2? on DVD will shatter what you think a Tarantino film is supposed to be.
?Kill Bill Vol. 1? was one of the most mysterious and anticipated movies when it released, with moviegoers unsure what Darryl Hannah, Uma Thurman and Vivica Fox could possibly be doing in a kung fu film. When it finally released, the gore overwhelmed many attendees, while others took it as par for the course for a Tarantino product.
With ?Kill Bill Vol. 2,? people had more of an idea of what to expect from the sequel: fast action, lots of blood and maybe a dash of plot for formality?s sake. They were only partially right. ?Kill Bill Vol. 2? resembled more of a spaghetti Western than an old-school kung-fu flick, the result being much less gore than its predecessor and slightly less action. What?s more, the film had a considerably stronger plot, and in fact provided some of the best character development in recent film memory. No longer were these senseless killers going about their assassinating ways. These were motivated, conflicted and layered characters whose complexity wasn?t fully resolved until the end credits.
The movie takes a while to get moving, leaving people who didn?t see the original somewhat lost for the first 20 minutes. Yet once the plot starts to unfold, even ?Kill Bill? newbies will be completely on track and appreciate the tale Tarantino is telling. Part spaghetti Western, part kung-fu film and part modern masterpiece, ?Kill Bill Vol. 2? is like a continental train: once it gets going, you?re in for a wild but memorable ride.
Much the same way, the DVD release of ?Kill Bill Vol. 2? takes its time before it hits its stride. The home-theater extras are there in spades, from full DTS and Dolby Digital support to a widescreen presentation and three different language tracks, but the actual bonus features take a while to really get going.
The first bonus, ?The Making of Kill Bill Vol. 2,? actually serves as more of an ice-breaker for the film than a ?watch it later? presentation. Its first five minutes incorporate a lot of movie footage to illustrate Tarantino?s brief interview points, which is a change from the traditional Making Of model of ?discuss casting, then scripting, then production and post-production. Instead, like the original ?Kill Bill Vol. 1,? Tarantino cuts through the fluff in this Making Of featurette and gets to the meat: the reason he made the movie the way he did.
The only downer to this approach is that the lack of much background will leave some people who?ve already seen the film feel as though the featurette has little to offer. Give the featurette 10 minutes, though, and their minds will be changed.
After Tarantino?s moviemaking explanation, which amounts to his justification for the film, the actor interviews get underway, the stunts are briefly discussed and the actors all give their prerequisite props to Tarantino and his vision. Coming in at about 25 minutes of interviews and commentary, the Making Of featurette in the end delivers exactly as expected. It just takes a while to get there.
The second bonus feature is a performance at the ?Kill Bill Vol. 2? premiere by Chingon, the band that provided the score for the film. If this doesn?t make you want to buy the ?Kill Bill Vol. 2? soundtrack, you must be dead. The performance includes two songs from the film, both played live and full of passion. Imagine a mariachi with an electric guitar, and you get an idea of the power of this bonus feature. Crank the volume high on your home theater, because if you have any appreciation for music, you?re going to absolutely love this feature.
The third and final bonus feature is a deleted fight scene with Damoe. Like many of the action sequences in both films, this deleted scene feels as though it?s pulled directly from a 1970s kung fu film and sprinkled with more-modern dialogue. The art direction and choreography for this scene, like every one in the movie itself, is top-notch, and it?s a treat to have this once-lost scene restored for the DVD release.
If you thought you knew what Quentin Tarantino was all about, that his films would seldom stray from action and have so much style that it distracted from the story, then you haven?t seen ?Kill Bill Vol. 2.? With the DVD release, you have no more excuses. Fans of the film will appreciate seeing it one more time, and the modest but good bonus features will sweeten the deal. People who?ve not yet seen either ?Kill Bill? film will probably even find themselves wanting to go back and see the original. This is easily one of the best DVD releases this summer.
— Jonas Allen
