Figured I would continue my wildly successful commentary of the Kill Bill series. Frankly, I wasn't overwhelmed by the Vol. 1, but I didn't pay to see that one, so I didn't complain.
I acquired the sequel via a bit of distributed computing. If you haven't already done so, check out BitTorrent.
It's far better than some of the other filesharing models (ie Kazaa, WinMX, etc).
Ok, on with the commentary. I found the Vol. 2 to be more believable, in terms of the martial arts content. It actually showed some remnants of Kung-Fu training. I just couldn't fathom a frail, anorexic looking women like Uma Thurman, performing these incredible techniques without tremendous amount of training. As a martial artist, I suppose I always look for a 'hint' of realism in martial arts films. Even, with Uma studying under the watchful eye of Gordon Lui, her prowess would be a stretch. For the sake of argument, let's disregard this for a moment.
Speaking, of Gordon Lui, he is of 'Kung-Fu' Theatre fame. If you're from NY, you'd remember him as the old man with a long Fu-Manchu beard. He starred in countless Hong Kong based films that aired on Channel 5. Lui and Carradine give the film instant street cred.
I did appreciate Carradine's performance in the film. He actually is a martial artist and is most known for his television series, "Kung-Fu".. For all of the trivia fans out there, Bruce Lee was actually, supposed to get the role as "Qui-Chang', but once it was discovered that he was Asian, he lost the role. So, Carradine got the part. Go figure.
Last word: The sequel doesn't have as many fight scenes as did its predecessor; however, the fight scenes are more, should I say 'believable'. Not too much sword play either.
Recommendation, don't spend any loot on this one. Get the Torrent.
Bro, I also liked the film, downloaded it, when it first hit the street. It did put closure to the whole movie. Believable??? Now that is questionable, but it did have some great wirework. That is what I liked about the old films, not much wirework, just strong fighting, pure choreographed moves.
Yeah, I thought the cinematography was typical of Tarrantino. The wire work was pretty decent. Certainly wouldn't compare it to Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon.
I've heard a rumor that "Kill Bill 3" will be coming out, featuring the little girl that witnessed Vivica Fox's death in KB1. Since KB2 summarized things so well, I don't know if a 3rd movie would even be necessary. Would it be worth watching little 'Nikki' try to avenge her mother's death?
ATB:
Not sure how the story could be expanded beyond KB2. Whomever plays that 'little' girl will have to be true femme fatale ;)
Hey guys, I don't know, but Carradine isn't a Martial Artist... It's true, Bruce was going to have the part... But Carradine was taken... Carradine was a balletdancer in real life before he took up acting... Just thought you should know. Carradine did take some lessons with BL. Why Bruce didn't get the role in "Kung-Fu"? I don't know.
HB: You're correct, Carradine did study ballet, but he also studied many other things too. One of his many passions was indeed the martial arts.
See the interview .