Reflections On The Death Of Bill

Months after seeing the first installment and after reading all the hoopla, I finally made my way to the theatre and saw the supposed last part of Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino's "masterpiece." Tarantino, or QT as his disciples call him, is being praised as a genius by both his fanboys and actors alike. I do not fully agree with that.

The second installment of Kill Bill is quite different from the first. Sure, the Bride is still after Bill to exact her revenge, it's the pace that is different. The first one moved along at such a frenetic pace that it was as if the Bride was attacking your senses along with the people who wronged her. It was like a comic book come to life.

The second installment was much more focused and character driven. We were shown and told that Bill was quite bad. In the second installment, we get to see Bill as a man and a father. We learn that while he is a cold blooded killer, he does have a softer side. Watching him make his daughter a sandwich and cutting the crusts off was a very good scene.

The characters I particularly enjoyed in the second half were Pai Mei and Elle, Darryl Hannah's character. You get to see how Elle lost her eye. It's amazing looking at the variety of roles she has played in her career and this one is my favorite. She was able to be so evil, tough, and sexy with such little effort. Her character has set a standard for villainesses in film. She would have been perfect in a Bond film. I like Pai Mei as the grumpy but undeniably wise martial arts instructor. I like his temper, insults, and taunts. The way he would stroke his beard was quite funny.

The development of Bill and his portrayal by David Carradine were superb. You see that he really did love the Bride and one of the reasons he shot her and had everyone at the wedding killed was because she did in fact betray him. When she finally does exact her revenge on Bill, it was one of the greatest death scenes ever. Never has someone met the Grim Reaper in a manlier fashion.

While I liked these elements of the film, it is still not the greatest movie of all time. I was reading that a test audience in Austin gave the film a five minute standing ovation. I have to say that's overstating the magnitude of the quality of this film by leaps and bounds. I would give this movie 4 out of five stars. It was entertaining but didn't have you cheering for the hero or even really hoping that she would succeed. I kind of sympathized with Bill, she did break his heart and ran off with his baby. After all, is that not a valid reason for revenge?