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With this thrilling, must-see movie event, writer and director Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) completes the action-packed quest for revenge begun by The Bride (Uma Thurman) in Kill Bill Vol. 1! Having already crossed two names from her Death List, The Bride is back with a vengeance and taking aim at Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), the only survivors from the squad of assassins who betrayed her four years earlier. It's all leading up to the ultimate confrontation with Bill (David Carradine), The Bride's former master and the man who ordered her execution! As the acclaimed follow-up to the instant classic Vol. 1 - you know all about the unlimited action and humor, but until you've seen Kill Bill Vol. 2 you only know half the story!

How do you follow a bloody, though often slow at times, sword-fighting extravaganza? Any attempt to either recreate the magic of the first movie or go off in an entirely different direction would be very risky. It is even more risky to place the fate of your movie in the hands of David Carradine. To say that, for the most part, swords will stay sheathed and instead acting will rule the day in Volume 2 was an interesting move and had you told me ahead of time that it would be so, I would not have believed you. After the fact, I can say that David Carradine is a star.

After much deliberation, I feel that I liked Volume 2 better than Volume 1. There were no characters that I enjoyed in Volume 1, while I loved the introduction of both Pai Mei (the martial arts master) and Esteban Vihaio (Bill's Spanish-speaking father figure). The highlight, however, was Bill.

He is a charismatic man to whom it would seem everyone takes a liking. His scratchy voice, which borders on a whisper, somehow soothes and calms. No one should wonder how he, with his charm; inteligence; and martial arts ability, rose to his position of power. And yet based upon what we know about Bill's relationship with The Bride, it is no surprise that the series is titled "Kill Bill."

I never expected to be so impressed with the writing in a Quentin Tarantino film. The story, though cheesy, was well planned out and the dialogue was perfect for the feel and direction of the film. The plot of the first movie was like a bunch of boulders placed next to each other, and Volume 2 was the sand poured over them to fill in the gaps. Most of Volume 2 was the back story which was lacking from Volume 1, but not so noticeably absent that it was not entertaining. There were questions that went unanswered until the second installment, which is expected in a series.

Kill Bill Volume 2 added depth to the plot and the characters introduced in Volume 1. It featured martial-arts fighting scenes, but introduced more verbal sparring than its prequel. Uma Thurman is the headlining star of the Kill Bill series, but David Carradine stole the show when he breathed life into Bill while The Bride tried to take it away.

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