I really did enjoy this movie, but feel that Quentin Tarantino's writing has degradated compared to his previous movies. The quality of writing and pop culture references are still there, but hardly the quantity. The only scene I felt that it was the best of his writing was the "Superman" part by Bill and that was it. The rest of the dialogue was interesting, but not up to par and I was never bored during anytime in this movie.

I have to say that I enjoyed this movie more than the first installment because Quentin Tarantino does a damn fine job of humanizing the characters, whereas the first volume it was emotionally devoid most of the time. What really stands out the most is how this installment greatly humanized Bill's character and gives him a chance to explain his actions. It has been a while since I have seen a fully fleshed out "villain" of sorts, and even then I have a hard time calling him that because I actually sympathized with his character in the end. The last time I saw an intriguing "villain" like Bill was probably the first "Die Hard" movie with Hans; a complete gentleman mixed with a violatile and cunning mindframe.

On a small note, I loved the music that the director used in this movie to build up drama and tension in a few scenes, but annoyed when some were cut off abruptly. The music in my opinion lacked the soul of the first installment, but great pieces of music nonetheless. I personally would not mind hearing the opening song of the first volume (Nancy Sinatra - Bang! Bang! My Baby Shot Me Down) again in this one

The acting was another strong point: Uma Thurman and especially David Carradine did an excellent job of acting and making them credible characters. Carradine's laid back attitude and Thurman's determination showed because of their acting skills. I say that this is probably Thurman's best role and acting since Gattaca. On another note, Daryl Hannah and Michael Madsen were sub-par at best and disposable characters to begin with. They were easily the movie's weakest points and were not fleshed out, especially Daryl Hannah's character.

Of course, the Pai Mei scene was homage to the Shaw brothers and the director did that part of the movie as if the Shaw brothers did in the 70s with the grainy camera, cheesy acting, and wacky camera techniques. I felt that the director took these supposed flaws in the Shaw brother's films (and any 70s kung fu flick in this case) and showed that those flaws were part of the charm of those movies. Props to Gordon Liu for playing the frickin' asshole bigot master that is Pai Mei.

I give this movie 3 1/2 stars out of 4 stars.