'Vol. 2' leaves audience ready for more

Reel Reflections

The second volume to Quentin Tarantino’s homage-epic, “Vol. 2” begins like its predecessor — a nameless, blood-splattered bride (Uma Thurman, “Paycheck”) is shot in the head by the eponymous Bill. It’s a frank, graphic sequence — one that carries itself throughout both films as the bride wakes up from a four-year coma and carries out a plan of revenge that takes her from the depths of American suburbia to the heights of the Tokyo crime world.

With “Kill Bill, Vol. 2,” the only victims remaining are the strip club bouncer Budd (Michael Madsen, “44 Minutes”), the cyclopean Elle Driver (Darryl Hannah, “The Big Empty”) and Bill (David Carradine, “Out of the Wilderness”).

If “Vol. 1” took its cue from the world of kung fu, anime and action films, then “Vol. 2” devotes itself almost entirely to the Western movie genre. The genre transformation will be jarring to those expecting something like the violent-spectacle of the seen in the first volume. In the second, however, we get more of the self-conscious, witty — sometimes indulgent — dialogue fans may recall from Tarantino’s earlier films “Pulp Fiction” and “Reservoir Dogs.” This is a film that examines the insides of its characters, instead of merely having them spill out onto the floor in a bloody mess.

Perhaps the greatest star of the show is not an actor in the film, but cinematographer Robert Richardson (“The Aviator,” “Four Feathers”), who instills each chapter of the film with a visual tone all its own. These tones are evident in the grainy, hand-held flashback to The Bride’s training sessions with guru Pai Mei. Richardson’s style also christens the streamlined black and white sequenced wedding rehearsal where the characters are killed by Bill and his assassins.

But for all the pomp and circumstance, the concluding volume to Tarantino’s opus leaves the residual feeling of having appreciated a puzzle that’s almost — but not quite — complete. You would be hard pressed to find a contemporary filmmaker with as much knowledge of and love for his craft as Tarantino. What he does in this film and its predecessor is nothing short of inspiring and captivating. At the same time, “Vol. 2” highlights the awkwardness of splitting “Kill Bill” into two separate films. After watching both films and putting the two together, we’re left with a severely unbalanced picture. It seems certain sequences belong at other points in the movie; it would have been nice to see some of the mood and dialogue apportioned to the first volume as well.

Tarantino is one of those directors for whom creative concessions only can cause problems. Some say it was best to release two films and others argue for a single, four-hour cut. If viewers can sit through three-and-a-half hours of a Middle Earth fantasy, why can’t they tolerate four hours of a martial arts/western homage?

In the end, we’re left with the awkward — but completely worthwhile — “Vol. 2” — and the fervent wish for the release of a volume-less, uncut “Kill Bill.”