Saw this last night, and it was just great.
However, before I get to my review, I'd like to extend a hearty FU to the group of jackasses in the back who thought that when everyone laughed at some dumb joke they yelled out during the previews, it was an invitation to run their yaps through the entire movie.
Now that that's out of the way. I have to confess, I expected this to be a sequel of sorts, kinda like the Matrix "trilogy", how each one carries on the same story but can basically be a stand-alone movie. I was way wrong. The movie jumps back and forth through time to bring all of the character's motivations to light more clearly. Don't go into this expecting another non-stop action movie.
Which isn't to say there isn't any action in it. The centerpiece of the film is a fight between Uma Thurman and Daryl Hannah that takes place inside of a cramped mobile home. Unlike Vol. 1, most of the violence in this scene, and indeed in the entire movie, is very realistic, which led to many audible groans and gasps in the theater. I like that Tarantino pulled the rug out from under the audience like that, making them think about what they were enjoying in part 1. Speaking of making you uncomfortable, there is a sequence in which The Bride is buried alive, and once her casket is closed, the screen goes black and all we can hear are her cries and the sound of dirt being thrown on top of the casket. It was unbelievably effective, I really started getting very uncomfortable.
I would like to see this movie as one big whole, because while both work individually, I think the movie would be far more effective as one long movie.
David Carradine was awesome. I never expected Bill to end up being such a sympathetic character, but by the final showdown (which occurs after the most startling and heartbreaking scene in the movie), I honestly wasn't sure whether I wanted to see him die or not.
In the end, I'd have to give this four stars. And, no, it's not because I'm some rabid Tarantino fan, it was just a great movie which had everything I would ever want out of a movie. Even if you didn't like part 1, I'd say see vol. 2, because it's almost completely different in style.
NOTE: It is not necessary to have seen Vol. 1 to see and enjoy Vol. 2, as there is a quick prologue in which the Bride addresses the audience directly and more or less explains everything that's happened up to that point.