"Kill Bill-Vol. 2" puts to shame doubts entertained about aesthetic strategies or structural imbalance provoked by "Kill Bill-Vol. 1."

Now that the entirety of Quentin Tarantino's epic revenge melodrama is on view, "Kill Bill" emerges as a brilliant, invigorating work, one to muse over for years to come. ... Here is a movie that not only pays homage to a host of action-movie styles but rigorously explores its pulp fiction for visceral truths that link culture and cinema. Here's a movie that both academics bundled in film theories and teenagers on hot dates will find supercool.

Box office-wise, the sky's the limit. Not only will "Vol. 2" enjoy a hugely successful theatrical run, but many of us will eventually demand the bifurcated sections of "Kill Bill" be conjoined into a single showing both in theaters and later in home entertainment. For what once felt out of balance now plays in perfect harmony. What once seemed to lack humor or subtext now has plenty.