well, just came back from witnessing this amazing vision brought to the screen... and i loved it. the 2 friends i was with were both disappointed. they just kept complaining about how boring it was, and how much more action was involved with vol. 1. i would almost agree with that, considering that the action/violence is toned down in this movie. but then again, how do you compete with the house of blue leaves? you can't.
overall, i think these two movies were awesome, and i'd love to see someone do a "phantom edit" type of deal when vol. 2 comes out on dvd, maybe re-arranging a few scenes to better split up the action scenes and the more dramatic, dialog driven ones.
and, i may be alone in this, but i was expecting more - much more - from the final fight. it left me a little disappointed.
but i loved it none the less.