Kill Bill Vol. 1
Many have seen Kill Bill vol. 1 advertised as Quentin Tarantino’s 4th Film. Everyone immediately thinks of Pulp Fiction and the more seasoned will recall his first attempt at non-sequential story telling with Reservoir Dogs. The third and least popular was Jackie Brown, the film that featured Samuel L. Jackson’s braided goatee and the line, “Light-saber. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherfucker in the room. Accept no substitutes. ” Or maybe that was an AK-47.
In reality, Tarantino’s influence is seen in a number of other places. Kill Bill is his 4th feature film with directing credits but he had a short in Four Rooms, and you can tell he had a part in True Romance and From Dusk ’til Dawn.
All of his trademarks are evident in KBv1: recurring actor choices such as Uma Thurman and Michael Madsen, non-sequential story telling and a very healthy dose of blood.
It’s difficult to say anything about the movie without giving too much away because it’s really not that deep from a plot perspective. The cinematography and music are the most distinguishing features of the movie and the fight sequences, which encompass most of the film, are well executed and fun. The movie’s setting is mostly in Japan and is actually quite reminiscent of Takashi Miiki’s movies about Yakuza gang wars – right down to the blood spattering. Many people will find the violence to be excessive. I found it over the top but enjoyable. A colleague described it as “fantastical” violence and I think that’s a suitable adjective.
While I miss the Tarantino regulars like Tim Roth, Harvey Kietel and of course Jackson (whom I see does appear in the volume 2), I actually like the addition of Lucy Liu and others. I don’t generally like Liu’s acting but ever since Ally McBeal, she’s played a cold bitch really really well and hey guess what? That’s what she’s casted as.
Once again, I’m reviewing this well after most people have seen the film but if you somehow missed it thus far, go watch it, but be prepared to flinch. A lot.
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