Tarantino's samurai flick delivers what it promises, and how!

Rating: 8/10 (19 October 2003)

Honor, betrayal and revenge are three traits that are renowned throughout all literature and media. But perhaps no culture has so thoroughly examined these issues to the point that rules have been established on all of them as the Japanese have.
That is perhaps what led avant-garde director Quentin Tarantino to make a modern day samurai movie, with the Bushido code of honor still fully intact among today's assassins. Tarantino's three previous films "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction" and "Jackie Brown" have all dealt with the three traits, but from a decidedly American standpoint. Add that to the fact that he grew up watching chop sockey flicks during his formative years, it's little wonder why he would be drawn to make such a film.
"Kill Bill: Vol. 1" is an unapologetic throwback to the low budget and violent kung fu theater flicks of the late 70s, but mixed with all the weird idiosyncrasies we've come to expect from Hollywood's favorite indie director. The story is told in chapters that are out of order, characters have seemingly inappropriate civil conversations during the middle of chaos, people are tortured for information and sometimes just for the heck of it, and bad guys compete with each other over who is the ultimate villain.
In this strange world or honor and insanity we meet "The Bride," (Uma Thurman) a former member of a hit man team known as Deadly Viper Assassination Squad where she went by the code name "Black Mamba." The rest of her squad ambushes her and her guests on her wedding day under mysterious pretenses not yet completely known, leaving her for dead. She miraculously manages to survive the ordeal, and four years later awakes from a hospital in El Paso, hungry for revenge.
Black Mamba soon begins her long journey of hunting down her enemies, which include O-Ren "Cottonmouth" Ishii (Lucy Liu), Vernita "Copperhead" Green (Vivica A. Fox), Elle "California Mountain Snake" Driver (Daryl Hannah), Budd "Sidewinder" (Michael Madsen), and of course the mysterious ringleader Bill (the as of yet unseen David Carradine). She really only wants these top five figures, but is more than willing to put down anyone who stands in her way as well.
Strong character development takes a back seat to violence and mayhem, which is sort of strange for a Tarantino flick. The characters are all interesting and unique, but this is not meant to be a deeply thought provoking experience. This is pure style over substance, with characters hacking each other apart with swords, knives and other weapons all for the benefit of the audience.
The film succeeds best when it is playing the material straight. Legendary Japanese action star Sonny Chiba has a small but wonderful role as Hattori Hanzo, a near mythic sword maker who crafts a special blade just for Black Mamba.
Tarantino, however, can't seem to control himself here. There are numerous comic scenes included with little rhyme or reason, such as a dirty hospital orderly who pimps out comatose patients to truckers, a scene where Hanzo keeps yelling at his lazy underling, and a lengthy scene in a parking garage where Black Mamba tries to regain control of her legs after four years of idleness.
Also, a ten-minute ultra violent animé sequence detailing the origin of O-Ren Ishii seems added for just the heck of it.
Tarantino definitely has his tongue planted firmly in cheek here, especially in the battle sequences. Victims who are decapitated or lose limbs spray out gallons of blood from their gashes in a disgustingly over-the-top fashion.
Not since the battle between King Arthur and the Black Knight in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" or the lawnmower finale of "Dead Alive" has so much of the red stuff spurted out of open wounds. Audiences will either react to such scenes by losing their lunch or laughing hysterically.
Really, the only way to enjoy "Kill Bill" is if you have a very sick sense of humor, and even then it's kind of hard to laugh at somebody lying on the ground screaming while blood oozes from a severed arm. Still, Tarantino knows who his audience is, and anyone who fits that demographic will have a blast.
The cliffhanger ending will entice others while leaving other people feeling cheated. But then, the whole movie is a rather schizophrenic affair. On one hand, it's nice to see a movie where you don't know what will happen next, on the other, the mixture of slapstick and extremely gory death scenes may be offsetting to most viewers.
I look forward to the second half of "Kill Bill" in February, though I'm not honestly sure why. Tarantino has certainly crafted an original picture here, but I doubt many people will think it lives up to the hype. As an exercise in extreme violence and revenge, the film is a full throttle blast, but as the latest film from one of Hollywood's most celebrated directors, it's just a strange detour.
8 out of 10 stars. Though at times it is an excessive assault on the senses, it's unique enough by itself to be visionary.