Kill Bill Vol. 2 MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +3 Content: -3 1/2

Kill Bill Vol. 2 is the second half of director and producer Quentin Tarantinos colorful and artistic tribute to martial-arts films. Delivered in the same quirky, episodic format as the first film, Vol. 2 continues to follow the Bride (Uma Thurman) on her brutal and bloody quest for vengeance. Once the deadliest member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, trained by great martial-arts master Pai Mai (Gordon Liu), the Bride was left for dead after the assassins ambushed her wedding party and Bill put a bullet in her head, presumably killing her unborn child. But instead of ending the Brides life, the bullet put her in a coma for four years. Once she awakes, the only thing on her mind is to find and to kill Bill (David Carradine). But first, she must dispatch his Squad. Having already eliminated two members in Vol. 1, the Bride sets her sights on the two who remain, Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle (Daryl Hannah).

Like its predecessor, Kill Bill Vol. 2 is extremely violent. The carnage is less severe than in Vol. 1, with more talking and less killing, but that does not diminish the sick and sadistic nature of the film. The characters are lawless, setting their own standards of right and wrong, and all authority figures are conspicuously absent. In addition, the only moral commentary is offered by one of the Brides targets who vindicates her viciousness by saying, She deserves her revenge, and we deserve to die. While that statement may be true in some respect, it does little to justify the ensuing brutality. Apart from extreme and sadistic violence, Vol. 2 also contains some objectionable language, illicit drug use and Buddhist influences, all of which push it far into negative acceptability territory. Preview advises that you avoid both volumes of Kill Bill.

Preview Reviewer: Shaun Daugherty
Distributor: Miramax