Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)

Volume 2 puts the sword down and picks up a microphone. Big chunks of it are people talking: Bill talking, Budd talking, Esteban talking about Bill. If you came for Volume 1’s fireworks, the first hour can feel like a long drive across Texas. Stick around. The Pai Mei training chapter is ridiculous and perfect, a kung fu master who strokes his beard like it owes him money. The trailer fight with Daryl Hannah’s Elle is a cramped, mean little brawl, better than half the big fights in the first movie. The buried alive stretch is the most tense Tarantino has ever been, and he does it with a flashlight and a black screen. David Carradine plays Bill like a cowboy philosopher who loves the sound of his own voice. Metacritic gives it an 83, and that tracks. An 8.8 because it turns a revenge flick into a real story about the people in it. $142 says you try punching a wooden board from really close up after this and regret it immediately.

What works: The Pai Mei training, the trailer fight with Elle, the buried alive stretch, and David Carradine finally getting to be a person instead of a name.

What doesn’t: The talky middle drags if you came for action, and the final showdown is quieter and shorter than two movies of buildup promise.

Who it’s for: Fans who liked Volume 1 but wanted to know who these people actually are.