Not your traditional Tarantino...

Rating: 8/10 (14 April 2004)

Kill Bill: Volume One- First of all, this movie may as well have not been directed by the legendary Quentin Tarantino. With slightly below par lines, a brutal, disturbing opening sequence, and not much charecter development, this does not signiture traditional Tarantino at all. It portrays Quentin at his most angry, complete with over-the-top gore and violence (which is generally fun, but gets just disgusting every once in awhile). Sure, it is a whole ton of fun, but it is no where near being the filmmaker's best.
Considering this, I did enjoy the film. However, after a while, the violence got a little overboard, the dialouge terrible for the maker who wrote it, and the movie had next to zero plot. There were scenes I really enjoyed, such as the anime sequence (which ran slightly long), the House of Blue Leaves fight, O-Ren and the head chop blood sprinkler, and, of course, O-Ren's death. But there was something that angered me tremendously about the film. Where was the writing? It seems as if Tarantino just through the script out the window.
Now, I feel I must right a full paragraph just about the violence in this film. It is absurd, amusing, and sometimes downright disturbing. Do you like Monty Python and the Holy Grail? You know the Black Knight scene? The whole film is kind of like that, mixed with some brutal violence. If that sounds like your cup of tea, be sure to see this film. I liked it a lot to an extent, but certain scenes were just lacking oomph.
However, so I don't go overboard on bad things about this film, I did love everyone's acting, and the special and visual effects were brilliant. I did laugh, but just because of the complete absurdness of the violence. Rarely was I wowed by Tarantino's wit, like I was in Pulp. Rarely was I shocked by what had just happened, as I was in Dogs. This was just not traditional Quentin, and I hope he quickly goes back to his old ways, and away from this grotesque, disturbingly over-the-top, do-anything-for- a-shock faze. It isnt near as fun. 8/10
Favorite Scenes See Above.
Favorite Lines "As your leader, I encourage you from time to time, and always in a respectful manner, to question my logic. If you're unconvinced that a particular plan of action I've decided is the wisest, tell me so, but allow me to convince you and I promise you right here and now, no subject will ever be taboo. Except, of course, the subject that was just under discussion. The price you pay for bringing up either my Chinese or American heritage as a negative is - I collect your *beep* head. Just like this *beep* here. Now, if any of you sons of bitches got anything else to say, now's the *beep* time."
"I need Japanese Steel."
"Leave your limbs-they belong to me now."
(*Note: For all of the huge Kill Bill fans out there, please don't flood my post with disses and invade with PM's about how I have no right to be a Tarantino fan. I did deeply enjoy this film, and I am still just as much a Tarantino buff as I was before, i'm just saying that the film doesn't live up to the director's predessors. Again, I did enjoy the film, and plan on seeing Volume Two.)