Kill Bill Vol. 2

I'm ambivalent on Vol. 2 due to its opposing tendencies: diminishing intensity and building purpose. The intensity diminishes, which is a big blow. Vol. 1 is thrilling, in part for its novelty, part for its brutality. The novelty wears off for Vol. 2, and Tarantino tones down the brutality. I was terrified during the early massacre scene. For the first time in a very long time, I pulled my gaze from a movie out of fear. Little came of it: suspense was released with a fading shot and the action out of view. I was stunned and relieved. It seemed out-of-character. Now, I say intensity diminished in Vol. 2 -- I mean gradually. That scene was as intense as any in Vol. 1 for me, but maybe its resolution taught me not to fear so much. An early shot also assures us she survives healthily, so even the burying-alive is tamed. Without that early assurance, the burying-alive would have been brutal. It nearly was anyway. Even if we're pretty sure she survives for the sake of the movie, sometimes visionary directors surprise you, and it's another step to be directly assured by the filmmaker like we were. I'm shocked he spared us the massacre, and I question his decision to assure us her healthful survival. It tames the movie. Maybe it keeps it palatable. The diminishing intensity is disappointing though, especially by the end. Vol. 1 is satisfying because you know there's a lot of time left to climax. Vol. 1 climaxed in an extended mass battle, but you know there's far more meaning to mine in the Bill confrontation and the outstanding offspring. Unfortunately these things don't build the intensity; it's deliberately subverted upon her arrival to them. That's okay, if it's re-raised, but it isn't. It gets too reasonable. They have some relatively normal conversations. You can actually empathize with Bill. Again, that's okay, and nothing new in movies -- the enemy is often empathized before their downfall. But we need some way to rebuild the intensity. It doesn't come. They hardly even fight. You get some reasonable conversation and a rapid defeat. And that's it. But now for the second tendency: the building purpose. Once we meet the child, the movie quickly begins to flip. Prior, the goal is Kill Bill. I worried this was doomed for Revenant-level emptiness. Revenge movies must always face this dilemma: if revenge is achieved, now what? Did it reverse the original wrong? Did it bring happiness? What did it mean? The Revenant faces this, voluntarily or involuntarily, and it's depressing. I worried Kill Bill would suffer the same. But as I said in the last post, for Tarantino's extravagant reputation, he has depth, and he finds a reliable way to bring meaning to the ending. The movie flips from Kill Bill to regaining the child. Bill dies anyway, but unlike The Revenant, the child is won. This move saves the movie from that deflating nihilism. How else could it have ended? Her death? She gets a lot of money? How could we be satisfied? She gets her daughter is about the best it could be. Well, I certainly would have preferred more climax on the way. Ultimately I'm disappointed, but by the grace of the ending I'm content enough. I feel flat about it -- ambivalent. I'm glad it closed off well, but it fell a little flat.

Once again I was really disappointed when cheesy fantasy entered. Last time it was jumping off the sword in the mass battle: this time it was jumping on the sword. The master jumped on the sword, did some other unrealistic things, and threw the sword back in its sheath. I really wish such fantasy could be avoided. I roll my eyes and care less about the movie. Thankfully this was momentary, and I felt invested the rest of the time.

I like Kill Bill. It had more depth than I expected. I was emotionally involved. It was exciting. The second volume was disappointing, but I don't feel frustrated. A mother winning her child is about the most placating thing of all time.

Next day notes:

It sounds like the mother-story came late in the writing, after Tarantino observed Thurman with her child. This explains why it felt like a left turn, why its relief was so surprising. I guess he didn't even conceive the Bride's daughter survived. I wonder how he would have ended it otherwise.

Why was Michael Parks's Esteban performance so enthralling to me?