rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2003
Directed by Quentin Tarantino; produced by Lawrence Bender; written by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen, Vivica A. Fox, Julie Dreyfus, Sonny Chiba
I can't think of a movie that shows more blood than ‘Kill Bill', not even a horror filled with gore. That could be a reason why you don't want to see this movie, and you might be right, but instead of being appalled you will probably chuckle with every bloody scene. I know I did. With this two-parted film we see director Quentin Tarantino on the top of his game. His love for the movies can be found in every scene; the pieces together create a strange kind of masterpiece.
'Vol. 1' is almost no story, all an exercise in style, but Tarantino makes it worthwhile. Uma Thurman is The Bride, close to being killed on her wedding by Bill (David Carradine) and associates, who wants her revenge. This is only the first half, so she has only the time to kill O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) and Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox). Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), Budd (Michael Madsen) and of course the big man himself are left for 'Kill Bill: Vol. 2'.
The violence is deliberately over the top, honoring the classic Asian action films. Tarantino includes many genres including the spaghetti western ('Vol. 2' does this even more), horror, and even anime. Say what you want, while honoring the B-film in particular he gives us beautifully choreographed action scenes, a lot of smiles, some terrific cinematography (including a delicious one-take scene in a bar), all done so much better than in any of the films he refers to.
After 'Reservoir Dogs' and his masterpiece 'Pulp Fiction', Tarantino still creates original work. Even more so, he stays one of the best and most unique directors of his generation. With 'Kill Bill' he has turned the unoriginal into something brilliant unlike you have ever seen before. His films are reasons why we love motion pictures in the first place, and you can not have enough of those.