Quentin Tarantino has (deservingly) built a reputation for himself as an explosive, entertaining, and often brilliant filmmaker. He's also built a reputation as a self-loving, somewhat egotistical filmmaker whose love for movies clashes with his love for himself and his brilliance. The brilliance is undeniable, and his rebellious nature of breaking the rules of traditional Hollywood cinema is pretty damn cool, but as of late the flaws of this approach seem to be more evident.

Tarantino's latest venture Death Proof by far suffers the most; it's a film that is strained by the battle of the two sides of the man; the inventive and wildly entertaining director, and the self-appreciating, unfiltered screenwriter. It's a movie that can rock you as hard Pulp Fiction did over a decade ago, but can also drag your patience out to the breaking point.

The idea for Grindhouse, the double-feature tag team from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, might seem a novel concept, but if you think about it, it's almost a natural progression for the two filmmakers. Both have owed their careers to grindhouse cinema, legitimizing the rough edges with their skills as filmmakers, while keeping the raw excitement that those movies offered, along with the natural allure of sex, drugs, and guns. A perfect recipe, and one that achieved the elusive goal of exciting audiences and uniting critics in praise. Grindhouse offered the two filmmakers a chance to relax in ways; they created a system in which it was good to be bad. For Tarantino and Rodriguez, it was a dream come true; an opportunity to unleash the inner nerd and write the movie that they probably couldn't sell until now.

Too Good To Be Bad

However, Tarantino's Death Proof is a film that showcases a director unwilling to completely let himself go. Whereas Rodriguez's "Planet Terror" is an all-out, over the top spoof that eschews good writing for laughs and thrills, Tarantino makes sure that Death Proof can still be a prizewinner for critics. The writing is slick, the fake film stock scratches on only sparingly, and the cinematography clean and well lit. It's still a grindhouse movie for sure, but with far more reservations and production values than one would expect in an homage to B-movies.

Death Proof is split into two segments, the first in Texas, the second in Tennessee. The first segment follows a group of Texas girls; centering around Jungle Julia (Sydney Poitier), Arlene (Vanessa Ferlito), and Shanna (Jordan Ladd). As they go about their day looking for weed and guys, they find themselves stalked by the creepy Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) and his death-proof car, complete with skull and crossbones on the hood. Soon, their suspicions are confirmed when Stuntman Mike turns out to be a crazed sociopath.

The second half takes place 18 months later in Tennesse, introducing us to a second group of girls; Kim (Tracie Thomas), Abernathy (Rosario Dawson), Lee (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and the charismatic Zoe Bell (as herself). The four of them soon find themselves being stalked by the stunt car maniac, but decide to deal with it in a very different way.

Death Proof fulfills the Grindhouse formula on pen and paper; a bunch of dressed and half-dressed babes being stalked by a vicious male killer. There's no question that Tarantino absolutely kills the moments between Stuntman Mike and the different groups of girls. These scenes are rife with the creepiness, tension, and sheer excitement that one would expect from Tarantino, and that one would get from a grindhouse movie. However, the duration of the film doesn't involve Stuntman Mike stalking the girls as much as it does the girls talking and living their everyday lives.

The the Tarantino-ized girl talk is funny, witty, clever, and quite believable, and he'll be the first to tell you. Even with 7 girls sharing prominent screen time, Tarantino manages to flesh them out to the point where even if they aren't completely three dimensional, complex characters, they sure seem like it. He even adds some grindhouse-esque character development for comedic effect (i.e., a cutaway with sad music and Jungle Julia texting an old lover for a split second).

Down In Mexico

However, this is also Death Proof's downfall. Tarantino's writing here is as strong as its ever been, but that was never in question. With that said, Tarantino drags conversations between his characters on and on, to the point where no matter how hilarious, or witty, or believable it is, the audience begins to realize that it's not driving the story forward. As an accomplished screenwriter, Tarantino is fully aware of what he's doing, but yet he still opts to showcase witty dialogue in favor of a faster pace and more action. This doesn't sound very grindhouse; and it isn't. Tarantino's skills as a screenwriter make the great dialogue work in the world of grindhouse, but his inability to edit himself down threatens to reveal the trickery and illusion. One second we're wrapped up in the juicy, gossipy conversation, but after 5 or so minutes, we're just waiting to get on with the next scene.

The in-jokes and references to other Tarantino movies also wear a bit thin here. Having a car painted in a color that recalls Kill Bill is funny, but using a ringtone that has the Kill Bill theme music is a bit excessive. The fact that the group of girls in the second half of the movie are supposed to be stunt girls from Kill Bill is a little bit clever, but not incredibly so. Depending on what side of the Tarantino fence you sit on, Death Proof's sly little references will either get a laugh or two, or just annoy you to no end.

However, that's not to say that Death Proof's flaws sink it. There's still a heavy dose of talent apparent in the work. On par with Tarantino's other works, the direction and performances are rock solid. Rosario Dawson is strong as usual, but the two winning performances come from relative unknowns Zoe Bell and Tracie Thomas. Zoe Bell, Uma Thurman's stunt woman from Kill Bill, plays herself here, and her cool New Zealand accent paired with a kicka*s attitude make her quite the memorable character. Tracie Thomas also also adds a whole lot of attitude to the mix, and the two together really spice up the scenes they are in. As a whole, the second half of the movie totally trumps the first half. Of course, the first half is just the build-up. Tarantino's sharp writing, along with solid performances from the leads make beautiful counterpoints to the uncool but sociopathic Stuntman Mike.

And this goes without mention, but Kurt Russell is dead-on. Once again, a marriage of script and performance, Russell transforms Stuntman Mike into the personification of a guy anyone would hate. From his hokey banter, to his John Wayne impressions, to his breaking of the fourth wall, Russell really kills it in grand fashion. A movie like Death Proof can't work without us completely loathing the antagonist, and the usually likable Russell gives us plenty to loathe.

Tarantino meets French Connection

It's been well documented, but the real draw of Death Proof is it's astonishing finale, which centers around an 18-minute car chase. And no matter what the hype, it lives up to expectations. Simultaneously terrifying and wildly exciting, it's easily the most ambitious action set piece Tarantino has ever done, and it pays off. It's worth it to sit through the slow, brooding pace if not for the chase alone. 18 minutes is quite a long time for a chase, but Tarantino really sells it, adding a strong helping of humor and deftly giving one group the upper ground before completely reversing it in epic fashion.

However, hands down the best part of Death Proof is its ending. If anything, the final minute of the movie is more grindhouse and yet more brilliant than anything in Death Proof, or Planet Terror for that matter. Or maybe I just enjoyed it that much.

Aside from the car chase, Death Proof is notable for being the first movie with Tarantino as both director and cinematographer. He certainly fits well into the role, already being a highly visual director. There's nothing bad to say about his work here, as its competent at worst and incredibly strong at best. Being the DP of Death Proof also fits well with the Grindhouse theme, although Tarantino is too good not to let himself be intentionally bad. Although he jokes about chalking errors up to being a Grindhouse movie, the cinematography is miles ahead of anything grindhouse cinema could offer. He'd certainly do better for himself to have Robert Richardson or Andrzej Sekula on set, but for Death Proof's allegedly lo-fi feel, it works.

There are two versions of Death Proof, with only one currently available to consumers. The original theatrical cut features a group of missing scenes, the biggest being the infamous "lapdance scene" from the first half of the movie, which appears as a "missing reel" in the theater version. Personally, I feel that the theatrical cut is far superior to Tarantino's actual cut. While it has less of Tarantino's trademark banter, it gets the point across without dragging you along too far. Sadly, the initial DVD release doesn't include an option to play this version. I found the added scenes to be tedious, and in a film that's supposed to be about quick, cheap thrills and instant gratification, Tarantino's version sure makes you wait a long time for it.

Conclusion

Grindhouse certainly deserved far better than it got. A bomb at the box office, it's the kind of title that will be immortalized in cult status for sure. However, the DVD version of Death Proof is not as easy to love; on one side is the same strong dialogue, film geek references, awesome action sequences, and unforgettable characters we've come to expect from Tarantino, but on the other side is a self-awareness and overconfidence that threatens to destroy all the enjoyment.

If you can wait to see Death Proof, I'd suggest holding off until they release the original theatrical version. The films really complement each other, and as a single entity they become alot more than the sum of their parts. Also, the shorter version of Death Proof is far more compelling and accessible than the DVD version. If you're a die hard Tarantino fan, you won't really have a problem with this, but if you're just another person who thought Pulp Fiction was pretty cool and nothing more, then be wary.

3 stars for the DVD version, 4 for the theatrical, and rounded down just because Tarantino still has enough people to praise him for Pulp Fiction to keep his ego afloat.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up to Age 4