October 25, 2003
A Movie Review
I have seen a few violent films in my life, some gory horror flicks as well, not to mention a few war movies, but nothing prepared me for the carnage and over-the-top, blood spattering of Quentin Tarantino's, Kill Bill : Volume 1. I don't really know what I was expecting, maybe a Hollywood style Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon type movie. I should have known that with Tarantino at the helm there was going to have to be something to make it unique. What it was, well, what was it? My brain is still trying to digest what it has been subjected to. It was an amazingly graphic depiction of sword fighting, where the loser loses not only their life but many limbs in the process. There was blood everywhere. The "heroine", played by Uma Thurman, has been put through an ordeal which would leave you as about as angry as a human could be and then begins to exact some revenge. She takes on a series of henchwomen of the aforementioned Bill, but in true Pulp Fiction non-sequential fashion.
Quentin Tarantino has a knack for making unusual movies, movies with a sick and twisted humour about them. You find yourself feeling guilty for chuckling at some of the more evil story lines. The movie itself, intentionally I'm sure, never really decides what it wants to be, jumping back and forth between 70's Kung-Fu movie, Japanese Anime (actual cartoons, as well), Hollywood action movie, Charlie's Angels, and 90's Crime Drama. Everything from the look and cinematography to the soundtrack changes as the movie segues between styles, sometimes very abruptly.
Did I like Kill Bill? Good question. I guess so. From a pure movie-making standpoint, I liked what I saw, though I had a hard time watching some of it. I found a lot of it quite disturbing, but that was probably the point. It seemed to be testing the audience to see how much it could take. I might be getting a little old for these kinds of movies, but I'm sure 18-25 year old males would love this movie. I'm not sure if that's a good thing.