Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Gordon Liu ... see more see more... , Michael Parks , Perla Haney-Jardine , Helen Kim , Claire Smithies , Clark Middleton , Laura Cayouette , Larry Bishop , Sid Haig , Reda Beebe , Samuel L. Jackson , Chris Nelson , Caitlin Keats , Jeannie Epper , Bo Svenson , La Tanya Richardson , Shana Stein , Chia Hui Liu , Lucy Liu , Vivica A. Fox

Quentin Tarantino's sprawling homage to action films of both the East and the West reaches its conclusion in this continuation of 2003's ultra-violent Kill Bill Vol. 1. Having dispatched several of he... read more read more...r arch-enemies in the first film, The Bride (Uma Thurman) continues in Kill Bill Vol. 2 on her deadly pursuit of her former partners in the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, who, in a furious assault, attempted to murder her and her unborn child on her wedding day. As The Bride faces off against allies-turned-nemeses Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), she flashes back to the day of her deadly wedding, and we learn of how she was recruited to join the DiVAS, her training under unforgiving martial arts master Pai Mei (Liu Chia-hui), and her relationship with Squad leader Bill (David Carradine), which changed from love to violent hatred. Originally planned as a single film, Kill Bill grew into an epic-scale two-part project totaling more than four hours in length; as with the first film, Kill Bill Vol. 2 includes appearances by genre-film icons Sonny Chiba, Michael Parks, Larry Bishop, and Sid Haig; Wu-Tang Clan producer and turntablist RZA and filmmaker and composer Robert Rodriguez both contributed to the musical score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

87% liked it

747,773 ratings

Critics

85% liked it

227 critics

R, 2 hr. 17 min.

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Release Date: April 16, 2004

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: August 10, 2004

Get It:

Stats: 41,009 reviews

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (41,009)


  • August 27, 2011
    A more laid back not as quite as violent as the first but a solid finish to a nice tale. The entire why of volume 1 is laid out for you in a great finish.
  • fb733768972
    April 16, 2012
    fb733768972
    It may not be the diabolical conclusion that many fans may have wanted, but in a storytelling sense, it is almost perfection. By the end of the first film I was dying to get the answers, but when the second portion starts, it almost feels like Tarantino wanted you to know who eve... read moreryone is, before you even get to see for yourselves. I was a little let down in that aspect, but the betrayals, the writing, the action, and the obvious twists are all so engaging that it would be a crime to not love this film. Quentin Tarantino does it right again in this edgy sequel to a masterpiece. I absolutely loved the way this will was put together, but I wished some of the details weren't revealed right from the start. Overall, "Kill Bill - Volume 2" is a fantastic piece of cinema!
  • March 9, 2012
    Regrettably, "Vol. 2" is Tarantino's most pretentious movie he's made. It's not to say that the movie sucks, but there's a certain tone that carries throughout the movie that's unattractive. I've gotta say, the action scenes are really well choreographed though.
  • October 30, 2011
    I was happy that Tarantino decided to tone down the gore and violence, and took a step into the land of adventure, where we can relax and watch away as Uma blissfully dances across the screen.
  • fb1664868775
    October 21, 2011
    fb1664868775
    I really consider parts I & II the same film but if reviewing each individually I would say the difference is style and pacing. I love the second film for it's ode to Leone but also for it's Pei Mei scenes. I love how when the story switches to Bud and his strip club job it feels... read more like a total different film. Also the buried alive scene is classic.
  • fb729949618
    September 25, 2011
    fb729949618
    These movies have too much swag.
  • September 15, 2011
    Volume 2 focuses more on story and characters, rather than action and spectacle, but is a good movie in its own right. Some may find it better than the first volume, and some may not.
  • fb634552688
    August 18, 2011
    fb634552688
    There's a lot more talk than action in this and that's fine, but most of the dialogue doesn't hold up to Tarantino's usual. The last 30 mins or so focus specifically on the relationship between ****** and Bill...and what an interesting relationship it is. It's a shame they were ... read moreforced to release the films separately.
  • fb100000257973100
    July 12, 2011
    fb100000257973100
    It is universally known that the sum of the whole is greater then it's parts. For films, that is usuallly not the case. But for Kill Bill, it is. As I have said in my review for Part one, this was meant to be one giant film, but it was split in half due to time reasons. While the... read more first film was violent as hell, this film is not. In exchange we get more backstory and plot which is better. Between the two halfs of the film, I feel that this is the better one due to it being the story and the characters are better developed. Now, am I saying that the first one is bad? Absolutly not. I am saying that this is the better of the two. But as a whole, it is even better. Now for the technical aspects. This half shows the extent of how much Tarantino experiment with his tecnique. Mostly during the patient talk sequences that occur in the film and the coffin scene half way through the film. Plus, how he directed the giant fight scene between The Bride (Yes, her name is revieled) and Elle Driver shows his masterful talent while paying homage to one of the greatest Giant Monster films of all time (War of the Gargantuas). This half is Tarantino's second masterpiece. Now for the acting. In the previous review, I touched on Uma Thurman, so while she is a powerhouse in this film, I am not going to worry about her. The people I want to touch on is Daryl Hannah and David Carradine. For Hannah, I never really cared for her performances (mostly due to her Razzie for Wall Street), but I like how she is such a psychopathic lunatic that is hell bent on only one thing: Pleasing Bill, wanting The Bride dead, and wanting to be rich plus have The Bride's sword. But, the one thing that I think makes her the most memorable was her monologues she gives when she kill one particular character and when she revels one shocking secret to The Bride. Even more, her performance when something, sad, happens to her. For Carradine, this was the first film I ever saw him in, and as such, the one film that expose me to him. When we see him, he is mostly talking to The Bride, very little fighting from him. But, when we see him, he steals the show! He is that wonderful in this film. This being the last major film he was in before his tragic death, I say that he gave a hell a performance and, at the end, just sends him off perfectly. Why he did not get and Oscar nomination for Supporting actor, I will never know. The script, as I said is mostly talking and back story that I like. But, the one aspect was how the script had the character of Bill set up. In the first film, we only see his right hand. Nothing else (except a VERY blurred look at his head). Now, when we see him in this film, that entire God/ Spiritual like quality is gone and we see him as any other person. That, in my opinion, is brilliant! Now for the score. Between the two films, the score for part one is better in terms of being more catchier. With this score, it is better at setting the mood with western pieces being used plus some score pieces by Ennio Moricone. But, the one piece that steals all of this is the use of the song MalagueƱa Salerosa by Chingon (AKA" Director Robert Rodriguez band). So, between the scores, they are both great in their own right. Overall, this is a perfect continuation of The Bride's revenge, the better half of the film, and the part that makes both parts better as one.
  • June 15, 2011
    By releasing his film in two parts, Quentin Tarantino caused a bit of a stir. Questions were asked; Was it a producers money making scheme? Was it his inflated ego? Was it even going to work? The answer to all of the above is most likely - Yes. And once again the film geek had si... read morelenced the naysayers with a second part that's as good as, if not better than the first.
    Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox) and O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) are out for the count but for the Bride (Thurman), there's still unfinished business and three to go - the brooding brother Budd (Michael Madsen), the murderous one-eye Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), and of course, the big dog. The top banana himself, Bill (Carradine).
    After the success of the first, it can be tricky to maintain the same level of quality. Wisely though, Tarantino changes the whole tone and mood this time. He doesn't try to emulate the first. If anything he delivers the opposite. Where Volume 1 explored an eastern theme, Volume 2 is very much the western. It's a clever structural device from Tarantino and my being a big spaghetti western fan this second installment just about shades it for me.
    If the first one was his channeling of Akira Kurasawa and John Woo, this is his John Ford and Sergio Leone. This time around the characters are more fleshed out. We are given tons of backstory and the reasons for all the carnage we have witnessed. This is when it all comes together. The big reveal. What this lacks though, is some of the visual splendor from Vol. 1. There's no scene that can quite match the climactic "The House Of The Blue Leaves" confrontation. What we get to make up for it, is an excellent modern spaghetti western complete with Ennio Morricone style music and a female frenzied fight between The Bride and Elle as well as the conscience ridden, snarling brother Budd and finally, the elusive Bill.
    A third installment is now being discussed but if it doesn't transpire (and maybe it shouldn't) this is a fitting end to a marvellous double-feature from the imaginative mind of Tarantino. Any film that has a martial arts move called 'the five-point palm exploding heart technique' is okay in my book.

Critic Reviews


Peter Rainer
August 7, 2004
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine

I've lost my sweet tooth for slice-and-dice escapism, and perhaps this is why I feel the need to see movies that don't simply glamorize or fetishize or supernaturalize brutality. Full Review

David Denby
August 1, 2004
David Denby, New Yorker

The pop encyclopedist and video-store genius has become a megalomaniac, and the exhilarating filmmaker he might have been is disappearing fast.

Noah Berlatsky
May 14, 2004
Noah Berlatsky, Chicago Reader

If he doesn't take care Tarantino could make something significantly worse. Full Review

Richard Corliss
April 29, 2004
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

A gargantuanly entertaining double feature. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
April 22, 2004
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

People who stayed away from Vol. 1 because of its genre-dictated violence may find Vol. 2 so much fun that they'll want to catch up on Vol. 1. Full Review

Charles Taylor
April 17, 2004
Charles Taylor, Salon.com

for all the craft that's gone into Kill Bill, Vol. 2, despite the chance Tarantino has taken in departing from the wham-bam movement of the first half, my final reaction to the movie is, so what? Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
April 16, 2004
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

A comic book at heart, albeit a thoroughly, grandly romantic one in the end. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
April 16, 2004
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

A soul-deadening experience. Full Review

Peter Howell
April 16, 2004
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Revenge is a meal that gets better with the second course. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
April 16, 2004
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

A witty and entertaining action movie. Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Kill Bill: Volume 1
    Kill Bill: Volume 1 (88%)
  • Grindhouse
    Grindhouse (81%)
  • Sin City
    Sin City (65%)
  • Payback
    Payback (71%)

Facts


    • Elle Driver: That's right. I killed your master. And now I'm gonna kill you too, with your own sword, no less, which in the very immediate future, will become... my sword.
    • The Bride: Bitch, you don't have a future.
    • Bill: When I first saw him... I like his hair.
    • The Bride: You promised you'd be nice.
    • Bill: No, I said I'd do my best. That's hardly a promise.
    • Elle Driver: [to Budd, as he is dying] Now in these last agonizing minutes of life you have left, let me answer the question you asked earlier more thoroughly. Right at this moment, the biggest 'R' I feel is Regret. Regret that maybe the greatest warrior I have ever known, met her end at the hands of a bushwhackin, scrub, alky piece of shit like you. That woman deserved better.
    • Bill: How do I look?
    • The Bride: You look ready.
    • Bill: Lucky for us all. That's not the case.
    • Bill: Was my reaction really the surprising?
    • The Bride: Yes it was. Could you do what you did? Of course you could. But I never thought you would or could do that to me.
    • Bill: I'm really sorry, Kiddo. But you thought wrong.

Kill Bill, Volume... : Watch Free on TV


Kill Bill, Volume 2 Trivia


  • Which Quentin Tarantino movie did Robert Rodriguez compose the score for $1 in return for Quentin directing a scene of Sin City for the same price?  Answer »
  • In Kill Bill: Volume 2, what technique did 'the bride' use to finally kill Bill?  Answer »
  • In Kill Bill Volume 2, was the bride shot down during her  Answer »
  • Name the film this exchange appears in: Assassin # 1: "Are you any good with that shotgun?" Assassin # 2: "Not that it matters at this range, but I'm a f*cking surgeon with this shotgun!"   Answer »

Movie Quizzes


Recent Lists


Most Popular Skin