Quentin's Double Edged Sword
Written: Oct 10 '03 (Updated Oct 10 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Tarantino's back. Quick, fun and daring - "Kill Bill" is a must for fans.
Cons: Too disgustingly gory - will leave a lot of casual viewers cold.
The Bottom Line: "Kill Bill" surfs it's viewers on a cresting wave of blood and gore - and it's worth every minute.
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| e_burrell's Full Review: Kill Bill Volume I |
It hurts me to think how many years ago I saw "Pulp Fiction" for the first time. Sitting there, glued to the screen watching a kind of film I'd never seen before. Oh sure, I'd seen violence in my day - you know, the kind where Arnold Schwarzenegger shoots a bad guy and they fall down. This was something different - when someone got shot, you saw brain matter on the wall. You saw chunks of flesh on the floor.
Welcome to "Kill Bill", Quentin Tarantino's fourth film - a mind-bending mixture of grotesque violence, quirky dialogue, startlingly funny sight gags and a fat wad of style all balled up into one. Sounds like the same mixture which served Tarantino so well on past ventures like "Reservoir Dogs" and "Jackie Brown", but "Kill Bill" takes things a step further. If watching Michael Madsen cut the ear off a cop and dousing him in gasoline made you squirm ("Reservoir Dogs"), wait until you see Uma Thurman take a sword and hack into a woman's arteries - spewing her blood all over the camera in a kind of red geyser while she screams and writhes on the floor, twitching in the background of the scene for the next fifteen minutes.
Let's get all that out of the way right now. Yes, without a doubt, "Kill Bill" will be the most violent film released this year. Had Tarantino not opted to use black and white in many of the major battle scenes, this film would easily have received an NC-17 rating. It's a given going into a film called "Kill Bill" that you're going to see some violence, so if that's a problem steer clear of this film to begin with, because this wild ride of murder and payback is not for the faint of heart.
"Kill Bill" is easily the highest profile and budgeted film Tarantino has undertaken. Filming took place all over the globe, and as we follow The Bride from location to location (Los Angeles, Texas, Beijing, Tokyo, Mexico and Hong Kong), we realize what an undertaking this film must have been. Remember, this is merely volume one in a two-parter. Word is that Miramax head-honcho Harvey Weinstein refused to release the film in it's three-and-a-half to four hour treatment, and opted instead to release two seperate films.
Tarantino has again played with space and time, and "Kill Bill" doesn't follow any linear story pattern. In fact, the film is all over the place - it even has a dazzling fifteen minute anime cartoon stuffed in the middle explaining the origin of Lucy Liu's character O-Ren Ishi.
We ascertain that Uma Thurman's character 'The Bride'has been left for dead on her wedding day by her previous employer and lover 'Bill' (David Carradine, "Kung Fu Series") and his group of assassins including the aforementioned Lucy Liu ("Charlie's Angels"), Darryl Hannah ("Blade Runner"), Michael Madsen ("Reservoir Dogs") and Vivica A. Fox ("Soul Food").
The Bride isn't dead though, and now she wants some serious payback for what was done to her, and apparently her unborn child - one of nine people killed in the massacre at the chapel in El Paso, Texas. The Bride wants her revenge. The Bride must work her way through each of the aforementioned assassins before she can finally kill Bill.
Tarantino has done a master's job (as usual) in the art of the homage. Fans of Martial Arts and Samurai flicks (especially of the Sonny Chiba 'grind-core' variety), and anime and gangster films will find plenty to spot and enjoy. Bruce Lee fans won't be disappointed when a major fight scene has Thurman's character dressed precisely as Bruce Lee in "Game of Death" - also recognize shades of "The Green Hornet" here and there.
For all the razzle-dazzle blood-spazzle, "Kill Bill" keeps its heart squarely on the main story of redemption and revenge. Much like past Tarantino films where you found yourself attached to even the most dispicable characters, you find yourself sort of rooting for The Bride's blood lust. You actually identify with the merciless O-Ren Ishi (Liu), especially in the final battle between her and the Bride - which is the best scene in the film by far, and perhaps the best scene of the year. Even these heartless assassins with codenames like 'Cottonmouth', 'California Mountain Snake' and 'Sidewinder' seem to break free of their cookie-cutter quirkiness and present dazzling characters.
The supporting cast is nothing short of magnificent even given their blink-and-you-miss-them roles. Michael Parks as a bumpkin sheriff with a large collection of mirrored aviator sunglasses on his dashboard. Sonny Chiba as the greatest swordsmith on earth Hattori Hanzo (another homage, this time to the TV series "Kage no Gundan" or "Shadow Warriors"). Chiba's short scenes provided the human gravity to a film that lacked it - his presence and charisma shone through Tarantino's loving/revitalizing lens much as Travolta's did in "Pulp Fiction" and Robert Forster's did in "Jackie Brown".
"Kill Bill" was worth the five year anticipation. If you're a fan of Tarantino or anyone else involved I must recommend this film. Be forewarned though - "Kill Bill" is not for the faint of heart, and if you cringe at the sight of blood, you won't even last through the opening credits. Good luck - and we'll see you for "Kill Bill, Volume II".
OVERALL GRADE: A-
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
e_burrell
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Member: Eli Burrell
Location: Little Rock, AR
Reviews written: 253
Trusted by: 225 members
About Me:
Just trying to walk forward on this big old ball of dirt and water.
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