Kill Bill Vol. 1

10/12/03 - Review

After a six year layoff, Quentin Tarantino is back in the director’s chair with his story about a woman’s revenge against the people that tried to kill her.  Four years earlier in a wedding chapel in rural El Paso, Texas, an execution style murder took place that left nine people dead and one person in a coma.  The hit squad made the mistake of letting that one person live: Black Mamba, aka The Bride (Uma Thurman), because when she woke up in the present day, she vowed revenge on the people that tried to kill her.

The trauma was so great for Black Mamba that she unfortunately lost her baby, or so we are told.  After she awakens, her only purpose in life is to kill the Viper Death squad and their leader, known only as Bill.  The revenge of Black Mamba is kept on course with a piece of paper, entitled Death Wish 5.  One by one she hunts them down and kills them and whoever else gets in her way.  In her past, Black Mamba was part of this deadly Viper group that was a feared assassination squad.   But all of those feelings are gone now that they betrayed her.  She will stop at nothing until they are dead like her fellow friends that died in cold blood in that small wedding chapel in El Paso, Texas.

Six years without a Quentin Tarantino movie is a very long time.  But when he delivers on a film like Kill Bill, you tend to forget the entire furlough.  Tarantino is back and in a big way with the first volume of his tale of one woman’s revenge.  Kill Bill is absolutely fantastic from start to finish even with the ending cliff hanger that only wets our appetites for Volume 2 which comes out in February.  Was it worth the wait you ask?  A damn straight would be a good answer. 

Much like Tarantino’s other works of art, this movie is told out of order which is fine by me.  It starts out with Uma Thurman’s character fighting Vivica A. Fox (Vernita Green) while Fox’s four year old daughter is in the other room.  From there it goes to the wedding chapel murders and then it follows Uma through her comatose stay at the hospital.  Each part is told with a chapter number at the beginning of each “little story.”  Tarantino certainly ironed out the script because it was almost flawless.  The way he told the story was ingenious.  As a viewer I could basically not blink as I did not want to miss a crucial element of the story.  The movie was fast paced but not too fast where we would miss crucial elements of the story.  It runs a fast 110 minutes but it’s too bad that it ends after that because there is an undying craving for more. 

We all know that Quentin Tarantino’s directorial style is one of the most unique styles out there.  His extended camera shots or the viewing angles add to the feeling of the movie.  My favorite shots were when the camera was looking down from the ceiling.  He even used the split screen real time shot since most notable in TV’s 24.  The death scenes were overly exaggerated but they were hilarious in a good way.  It almost made it look like a very low budget Hong Kong flick.  When someone’s body part was severed from their body, blood squirted all over the place.  This caused the audience members to laugh and applaud with joy.  For the chapter on the Japanese crime boss lead, Oren Ishi (Lucy Liu), Tarantino used anime to tell of her childhood and what brought her to where she is today.  Some people blast this but I thought it was the work of true genius. 

This movie can at times be very graphic, so it’s definitely not for the faint of heart.  The fight scenes were simply amazing, including all of the sword play.  You can definitely see the Hong Kong choreographed style that was seen in some other big movies from that genre.  I couldn’t count all of the liters of blood that were spilled or the limbs that were removed from a person’s body, including the head of a Japanese man.  One character even lost their scalp.  It was definitely very graphic.  During the battle when Black Mamba was taking on Oren Ishi’s death squad, the shots were done in black and white which cuts down on the blood, but you could still see liquid coming out of the their bodies. 

Quentin Tarantino selected a wide range of actors for the movie.  Most of them had very little speaking parts, except for Uma Thurman.  She was the main star and the movie is told from her point of view.  She has obviously matured from her last flick with Quentin.  Her skills with a Samurai blade were very good.  He acting was not great but it was good enough to tell this story.  I think that casting her as the woman who seeks revenge was great.

Most of the other characters had very little screen time, but for those that did and are still alive will most certainly receive more in Volume 2.  We never even saw Bill’s face once except for a blurry shot in the beginning.  All that we know about Bill is what we heard from his cold blooded and lifeless words.  Lucy Liu and Vivica V Fox were decent with Liu getting more praise from me. 

As you know the movie is being released in two parts.  Volume 2 will be hitting theaters in February 2004.  Kill Bill Volume 1 is a remarkable piece of art and if it’s any indication, Volume 2 should be just as good.  Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie makes up for the six year layoff from his last movie.  The movie is no less than great and I urge you to see it the first chance you can.  The movie ends at a nice spot in the story and the cliffhanger is even better.  If Black Mamba knew what the cliffhanger was she might even question why she is seeking revenge.  But it’s good she doesn’t because I want my Kill Bill Volume 2.

Grade

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