Tarantino to 'Kill' audiences with latest

Those of you out there who hated "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" (being an unabashed snobbish asshole, I refer to you as the culturally retarded), take solace. Quentin Tarantino, in his infinite wisdom, has created a captivating capper to this epic grindhouse saga which even you'll love. \nIn eschewing over-the-top carnage in favor of crystal clear characterization, dynamic dialogue and a poignantly perverse sense of romanticism, Tarantino has crafted yet another masterpiece. The flick boasts the maturity of "Jackie Brown" and the bravado of "Pulp Fiction" -- that's no small feat. The long and short of it is this: "Kill Bill Vol. 2" is a joy to behold.\nWhen last we left The Bride (Uma Thurman, bettering an already brilliant performance), she'd offed Yakuza queenpin O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and hatchet woman-turned-homemaker Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox). This, in revenge for the matrimonial massacre hinted at in the first film and fully realized here. The three other perpetrators: cyclopic assassin/uber-bitch, Elle Driver (a deliciously dastardly Darryl Hannah), scummy strip club bouncer, Budd (Michael Madsen, in a turn so adept it nearly equals his work in "Reservoir Dogs") and our titular William (the masterful snake charmer who is David Carradine), encounter Hattori Hanzo steel with varying degrees of success.\n"Vol. 2" is much more akin to Tarantino's previous works, whereas "Vol. 1" was an exercise in style over substance -- albeit an amazingly entertaining one. Whatever gravitas the original lacked is more than filled in with the latest installment. The film is more leisurely paced (136 minutes as opposed to 111) and its characters are far more likely to wax pop cultural than whack Asian nationals i.e. Bill's magnificent monologues concerning a goldfish's untimely demise and Superman. Where "Vol. 1" was firmly rooted in Far East mythos, "Vol. 2" has a twinge of this tradition with a hearty helping of spaghetti Western. This entails long, lingering shots of scenic desert vistas and extreme close-ups of actors' faces and feet (QT's flicks suggest flagrant foot fetishism) -- standards of the genre.\nDespite laid back pacing there's still kinetic kicks to be had. The Bride and Driver's trailer-set grudge match meshes "Jackass" and the Patricia Arquette/James Gandolfini bathroom brawl of "True Romance" (also penned by Tarantino) resulting in some of the coolest close quarters combat ever committed to celluloid. Also, The Bride's training sequence at the hands of Pei Mei (a hilariously wispy-bearded Gordon Liu, who starred as Johnny Mo in "Vol. 1") is equal parts buffoonery and brutality.\nThose of you who loved "Vol. 1" for its violence and its violence alone may very well loathe "Vol. 2," as it's essentially a meditation on love and life filtered through Tarantino's cinematic kaleidoscope. Oh well, your loss.