A Brilliant Film (For Tarantino Fans)

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2014)

For those of you who have not yet seen this film, I must say that I'd recommend Quentin's other films over it. Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, I feel, are superior pictures, but that's not to say there's nothing in Kill Bill to see. If you've already seen Quentin's other films and love every second of it, Kill Bill is very much in the same ballpark, it's even the same league, it's even the same sport. For those of you who don't like his other films, don't bother with Kill Bill, because it's unlikely to tip you into favouring it.
Now that the shortest part of the review is over, we can move onto the meat of the review. I could give you a brief summary of the plot, but I feel like writing any single bit of it down would almost spoil the movie, because it's not really in chronological order. Instead, I'll talk about a few aspects of it I like. First and foremost, the lead character. Yes, the yellow suit and sword have become quite iconic over the years, and for good reason. She's oddly believable, in a world full of unbelievable things. This is perhaps the biggest joy of Kill Bill. It's full of all these sort of real characters who do unbelievable things, and somehow marries the two things into a seamless whole that somehow crushes one's suspension of disbelief, though Quentin does seem to jump and try to snap that cord in half as he tight walks his way across it. It took me until Vol. 2 to think about how silly some of the things happening were. But I let it slide, because at that point, I knew that I wasn't supposed to be bogged down by realism. This film is meant to be full of ridiculous gore. That's one thing you simply have to understand if you watch Kill Bill. Whether you can detect it or not in the film is crucial to your reception. Normally, I leave people to make their own interpretation of why something is in a film, but in Kill Bill, it's so pivotal that I can't emphasize it strongly enough. There are too many reviews and opinions about Kill Bill that all hinge on the insanity of the violence.
There's a reason for this kind of blood spurting out in five feet high geysers. This entire film is very much a mocking of how we glorify violence, but it's also about honour codes, and to get both of these across, it draws in references to all kinds of older films, particularly kung-fu and samurai films. As well as that, with the samurai sword that the bride makes so much use of, there's a clear indication of the honour code, as the Japanese lords were famous for their zealous following of this code. Furthermore, Vol. 2 draws in Chinese honour beliefs, also very strict and well-known. There's even undercurrents of more western honours, with of course the bride's heritage as American, but also the soundtrack's prominent use of trumpets, bringing to my mind fond memories of the infamous shoot-outs so often captured in Sergio Leone's films, who I very much adore as a film-maker. Now, the glorification of violence comes in with the hugely fascinating usage of blood and gore in the film. It's so ridiculously over the top that it becomes almost funny. And yet, it's still death. And that is perhaps the idea. Death is death, and no matter how you look at it, it's not going to be funny in the end, as demonstrated by the second film, but I won't spoil that just yet. However, it's very close, because there's not a lot more I can talk about with spoiling the film in some regard, or at least in my opinion. So, if you want to jump to the end to read my usual closing statements, feel free to do so now. Alternatively, if you've already seen the film, or don't care about plot (though I think one should endeavour to have surprises in films), then read on.
Kill Bill is about revenge. Specifically, the revenge of Beatrix. Beatrix is the aforementioned bride. She's a former member of an exceptionally well trained group of female assassins, lead by a mysterious Bill. However, we learn that she has tried to leave this behind to marry another man and raise her child, conceived with Bill, outside of the world of murder and violence. This is perhaps what redeems Beatrix for us. She's a considerate mother, and yet a deadly killer. If it hadn't been for Quentin Tarantino's brilliant structuring of the film, it would have been very difficult for us to like Beatrix. All of this stuff is learned piece by piece as the film goes on. Never enough for our appetites for answers to be sated fully, but neither too little so that we lose interest in the film and track other prey instead. He hits the perfect balance in that respect, very much like he does in many of his other films.
There is one small issue I have with Quentin Tarantino's pacing of the film. The Crazy 88's Fight, which is about as fantastic of a finale as you could possibly get, with blood absolutely everywhere, nearly a hundred amateur samurai up against lone Beatrix, and crazy moves galore, this is how the second film should have ended. But after this fight, the second film never reaches that same peak. This somewhat spoils my opinion of the second film, but I stand by the belief that they both have to be watched, even though the first film is definitely superior.