KILL BILL, VOL. 1: Bloody as Hell (as it should be)

Rating: 8/10 (13 October 2003)

I thoroughly enjoyed "Kill Bill, Vol. 1" for what it is and plan to see it again before it leaves my local theatre, and I'm looking forward to `Vol. 2.' It's a shallow movie with nothing underneath the surface, but the surface is so lovingly made--I just ate it up. It was a fun ride. A good ole fashion revenge flick. Uma Thurman going out to get everybody, and she gets 'em good. And that's it.
Criticizing the movie according a to more complex criteria than that seems foolish.
Which seems to be the case for most of the negative criticisms I've read about the movie. James Berardinelli's review of the movie, for instance, is a perfect illustration of a movie critic taking himself, as a movie critic, too seriously, and the movie, as a `film,' much too seriously--and judging the movie all wrong. (http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/master.html)
For example, the protagonist in a revenge flick is defined more by their ability to kick *ss than their ability to carry on witty conversation. As entertaining as it might be to listen to two gangsters discuss the deeper meaning of a foot massage, that kind of extended dialogue would most likely slow down the kinetic energy of the all cool kung-fu that's going on in `Kill Bill.'
So the movie doesn't have a lot of memorable dialogue. So what? `Kill Bill' isn't `Pulp Fiction,' nor do I think it is meant to be. It is a wonderfully crafted kung-fu, Samurai, kill-em-all and kill-em-good, revenge flick.
When I hear criticisms like `it was too bloody and too violent,' it reminds of something I inadvertently heard Kathy-Lee Gifford say about `Pulp Fiction' one day while I was flicking as fast as I could through the channels: `Did it really need to be so violent?'
That's like asking, `Does a musical really need to have so much singing?' Yeah, it does. It's called `The Sound of MUSIC.' What did you expect?
Quentin Tarantino's latest movie is called `KILL Bill.' Kinda tells you what you're in for, don't you think?
If you don't like gory and violent revenge flicks, you won't like the movie. That's it. Don't go. But for what it is, it is extremely well made, stunning and amazing at times, and--I hate this phrase--but a pure cinematic delight. It's like Homer Simpson discovering triple-chocolate ice cream. Kung-fu revenge flicks don't get any better than this.