Movies: Kill Bill: Volume 1

Funky music, iconic shots, Uma with a sword and Tarantino’s fourth film – the trailer promised a lot, but infuriatingly, like so much studio propaganda today, the film failed to live up to its own hype.

Tarantino’s action-packed homage to the best of spaghetti westerns and kung-fu thrillers stars Uma Thurman as an ex-assassin taken out by her former colleagues – the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad: Bill (David Carradine), Vernita Green (Vivica A Fox), Budd (Michael Madsen), Elle Driver (Hannah) and O-Ren Ishii (Liu) – on her wedding day.

The Bride (Thurman), pregnant with Bill’s child, is left for dead after being shot in the head, along with the entire wedding party. Five years later she awakens from her coma, seeking revenge on the former colleagues that killed her baby and destroyed her life.
Split into two films because Tarantino ended up with far too much ‘good’ footage to waste, Kill Bill: Volume 1 is the prologue and beginning to a story that feels as though it’s yet to start. The story and characters are not nearly as involved or expertly scripted as Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction – though this is typical of the modern action film, where plot and character morality are less important than thumping music, fast camera action and copious fight sequences… not that we don’t love this variety of action flick when done right.

Taking influences from samurai classics such as Shogun Assassin, Lady Whirlwind, Akira Kurosawa’s legendary Seven Samurai and Sergio Leone’s epic westerns (swapping six-shooters for double-edged swords), Kill Bill: Volume 1 fails to thrill for the most part. It is not until Thurman travels East to challenge newly self-elected Yakuza crime boss O-Ren Ishii that the film erupts into life, with Thurman in Bruce Lee’s famous one-piece yellow tracksuit, sword of vengeance in hand and the black-suited, Kato-mask wearing Crazy 88 gang standing in her way… they don’t stand a chance. “Those of you lucky enough to have your lives take them with you. However, leave the limbs you’ve lost. They belong to me now.” – The Bride’s chilling words after a mass blood fest that had to be filmed in black and white in order to get past the censors, blood gushing out all over the screen as if being hosed into the camera. Regrettably moments like this are far too few.

Sadly the effort put into the slicing and dicing of limbs is not echoed by the desire to give consumers much in the way of special features, with only a short making-of featurette, music videos and trailers the bonus material on this DVD release. Serious DVD collectors should consider waiting for the double-volume Kill Bill later this year.

Rating: I give it an 8.5. Great story line, Awesome fighting scenes, uma Thurman is pretty hot, and its an all around good to watch movie, except your going to have to watch Volume 2 after you see this one.

Oh wow I loved this movie!!!! the music was soooo great!! I liked the second one a lot better...I thought it was funnier and I liked that it had more plot to it...+ that's 2 movies that have my fave. line in it "aaa I was just fuck'n w/ ya."

Haven't seen Volume 2 yet, but I loved the Volume 1. It was a perfect plot for a Tarantino movie, and once again, it shows why he invests so much pride in casting Uma Therman. She did awesome in my opinion.

Of course the blood and everything was fake as hell, but that was defintely the look Tarantino was going for. He wanted to old samarai type of movie graphics blended with new correography to give it a classic modern feel to it. The plot was great, the action was fun as hell to watch, the fighting was superb, and the characters were portrayed beautifully.

I gave this beast of a movie a 9 - 9.5 / 10.

He is actually making a war movie, but he was getting stuck on some parts, so he decided to do something new recently. Hence, Kill Bill. And when he was finished with the script, it was going to turn out to be like 3 1/2 hours. His producers, and others told him to make it into a 2 part movie. But then he had to find the right place to end off Kill Bill: Volume 1. And for all of you that have seen the movie, probably agree with me he did a good job at ending it off, keeping you wanting/waiting for more.

oh yes totaly agree! thank God for producers! I think it just would have been an every day new movie if it had just been one long movie, but making it 2 movies...I loved it...it was great!

and on a side note...I dunno if I could watch a war movie directed by tarintino...I dunno...

My name is Buck, and I'm here to Fuck.

I loved this movie!

9.5 out of 10 (it has tied 3rd place with The Last Samurai)