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Review : Kill Bill vol.1
Tonight I made my peace with the movie theater that wanted to confiscate my notebook bag and I saw Kill Bill Vol.1 that just opened up today. I had stashed in some pickles in a zip lock bag and some Pocky but did get a small popcorn.
Kill Bill vol.1 is one hell of a popcorn movie.
It is Cool with a capital C, Violent with a capital V and a damn fine time at your local cineplex. This is an opera of combat and a ballet of blood. Over a hundred gallons of fake blood were used in the second part of the flick.
Quentin Tarantino wanted to make a 70's Asian action exploitation movie and he knows his stuff. If you see the US DVD of the Hong Kong film Iron Monkey make sure you listen to the interview of Quentin talking about Hong Kong action movies. Same thing with his interview on the US DVD of Chun King Express.
This is the fourth film that is both written and Directed by Quentin and there really is no one else who would pull something like this off. It stars Uma Thurman who can take a strong female role and knock it out of the ball park. She is believable in the action and the drama of the revenge that her character desires.
Uma plays "The Bride". We never know her real name and it is bleeped out when it is mentioned like it was a swear word. She was in a top notch assassin squad but she left the business to get married and raise a family. Her former boss "Bill" did not take kindly to her resignation and killed everyone in her church on the day of the wedding. She was shot in the head and was assumed to be killed but she was put into a coma. She was pregnant at the time so not only did she loose her husband but her child. She awakes from her coma and sets out to find and kill the people who did this to her and finally kill Bill.
The movie also stars Lucy Liu (she is actually not annoying), Daryl Hannah (looking damn fine), Michael Madsen (Mr Blond from R. Dogs), Chiaki Kuriyama (From Battle Royal!), Sonny Chiba (the living legend. The Street Fighter!), and David Carradine as Bill. We do not get to see Bill's face in the entire first movie.
The movie is actually five hours long and was separated into two volumes. Don't expect closure at the end of the film. The story is told in chapters with titles and the movies is arranged out of chronological order and in flashbacks ala Pulp Fiction. It is pure sweet edgy violence that features an amalgamation of talent but with Quentin Tarantino bringing it all together in a cohesive vision. I was surprised bu the black and white fight sequences as well as the chapter of the movie done in Japanese animation. This is not the first time that one of his movies has combined animation sequences like Natural Born Killers and I was tickled to see him use the old fashion X-ray cam that he talked about in the beginning of From Dusk to Dawn.
The look is retro and big big budget but he is not discouraged from trying to do strange thing that are not in a typical big budget action movie. It was graced with action choreography from the legendary Yeun Woo-Ping of dozens of Hong Kong action movies and The Matrix. The music was mostly composed for the movie and it really ads to the ambiance and emotion better than some new trendy Californian surf-punk or gangsta rap.
This is a freaking ride and I loved every damn minute of it. Take your girlfriend, take your dog, Hell take the kids it would be an eye opening experience. I can not wait for the conclusion in Kill Bill volume 2 and to see them back to back on DVD. I am overjoyed that Quentin Tarantino is still relatively young and I can look forward to several decades of more film from him. Kill Bill is not going to win any Oscars but it is going to sell tons of popcorn and DVDs.
I think I am going to go see this again soon. Like Sunday.
Jake at October 10, 2003 
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Comments
I knew I can count on Quentin Tarantino!
Posted by: dr_colossus of dataleak at October 11, 2003 6:14 AM
woohoo!! i'm going tomorrow to see it!! i begged, pleaded and cajoled and i'm finally going to see a movie in a theatre again! ;) yay! (and i'm bringing my own candy thanks...this being halloween season, there's no reason why i should have to pay $5 for a teensy bag of raisinets)
Posted by: lilly at October 11, 2003 1:03 PM
Uma Thurman's stunt double was the same one Lucy Lawless used in Xena: Warrior Princess before she buggered her back on set.
Posted by: Matt at October 11, 2003 1:39 PM
holy crap, this flick was amazing. violent, well made, awesome music. February is such a long ways off :(
Posted by: brendoman at October 11, 2003 6:38 PM
I totally agree... Kill Bill is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. The soundtrack was absolutely amazing.
Posted by: Nick at October 12, 2003 9:41 AM
Meh. I could take it or leave it. I enjoyed it, but since I'm not a fan of kung fu movies all of the references were lost on me.
It's fun, but has zero story and there's about 10 minutes of dialogue total in the entire flick. I'll be seeing the next one, and I liked this more than the second Matrix (or the first one, for that matter) but it's nowhere near in the same league as Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs.
Posted by: jason at October 13, 2003 7:04 AM
Pickles, Pocky and popcorn?? Jake, are you pregnant?
Posted by: puunum at October 13, 2003 7:51 AM
