Watched Dec 8, 2025
I had never seen these in theaters and that was nice. Seeing them this way, though, emphasises the issue I’ve always had — Vol. 1 is buoyed by Lucy Liu and the character of O-Ren (and those surrounding her). The additional anime sequence’s compelling nature affirms this, even though it’s also extraneous. The precipitous falloff of driving pathos in Vol. 2 is palpable from the minute the intermission ends. And it’s not to say that the second installment is bad, just that it takes a rather hard left tonally that I’ve never preferred. It feels like I’m watching two standalone movies, more than an original and a sequel. And if Tarantino always intended they be together, then I fear he should’ve edited them into a singular film with a longer runtime.