film: review

> KILL BILL: VOLUME 1 (2003)
Quentin Tarantino makes his triumphant return paying homage to Hong Kong samurai cinema!

By John C. Lyons
Film Critic

Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Lui, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Written by: Quentin Tarantino

Genre: Action

Our Rating: 8.5/10

“The Fourth film by…” Not too many people in the movie world can get away with listing such a phrase so prominently on their movie posters and in their previews except for Mr. Quentin Tarantino. Why? Because he made Miramax (the studio behind Kill Bill). No longer the little artsy film studio of the past, but now an industry powerhouse with Oscars under its belt. Tarantino made a little movie for $8 million called Pulp Fiction that brought in over $200 million to Miramax and launched (and re-launched) the careers of John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Uma Thurman. Yes, fan boys everywhere collectively wet their pants when they saw those four words followed by “…Quentin Tarantino.”

Six years have passed since Tarantino last sat in the director’s chair. Was it worth the wait? I say definitely. Apparently he had a bad case of writer’s block, but it’s obvious that is gone as the original cut of the movie was so big, in fact, that it ran over 200 minutes in length. Since Quentin gets what he wants at Miramax he was allowed to split the film (although I am sure he planned it all along, since it's well-known Mr. Tarantino isn’t much for editing his work) into two halves. So Kill Bill became Volume 1 and Volume 2. Volume 2 is slated for a February 2004 release. It can’t come soon enough; I enjoyed every blood dripping second of Kill Bill – Volume 1!

The plot is simple, “the Bride” (Thurman) is out for revenge after Bill (David Carradine) and his group of Deadly Viper Assassins murder everyone in her wedding party and seemingly her too. That’s about it. Although there are hints along the way that may prove to make it more than just a simple revenge flick filled with eye candy. There’s a baby involved, we don’t know who the husband was, the Bride used to be a member of the group, and her real name is bleeped out each time it is spoken - which made me chuckle. Uma plays the Bride to perfection. It is great to see her reunited with Tarantino because he seems to be the only director that can push her to her limits.

Kill Bill is all about action. Woo-ping’s crew (who also handled the Matrix trilogy) again did an amazing job with making the primary cast convincing with most of their martial arts maneuvers. Just once or twice the Bride looked a little too much Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, but I overlooked it here because this film rocked and that one sucked. There is a LOT of blood in this movie! A LOT of blood. Even the animé sequence introducing O-Ren Ishi (Lui) is filled with it. If the thought of countless decapitations and dismemberment aren’t for you - stay far away from this one. For the rest of us, yeah, it’s violent stuff, but it is handled in a way that makes it humorous. If you’re at all like me you will watch in awe with your mouth open as the blood shoots out like geysers during the climactic battle. It’s gory, but it’s beautiful. One of the year’s top action flicks. Bloody good fun!

I saw this film at Cinemark’s Tinseltown 17 Theater on Peach Street in Erie, PA.

(03-1012)

related links:
Kill Bill - official site

MPAA rating: R
For lots and lots and lots of blood-spraying violence, although it is over-the-top and humorous in nature, and for adult language

length: 110 minutes