Watch out, Crimson Batman!

Rating: 1/10 (29 August 2004)

This film should come with a warning that it is only suited to those adults who never outgrew watching Batman on TV, and would like to see the same thing with swords. Despite its many pretensions - and a great opening scene - the "movie" immediately degenerates into nothing more than a cartoon. The "acting" ranges from pathetic down to non-existent, with Thurman on the top end. A lot of it is based on people reverentially pulling swords out of sheaths and then pushing them back in, and similar ripponese mummery. The special effects are right down there with the acting, with awful gaps between what Thurman, for example, does in FX and what she can do on her own.
And what is it with this being Tarantino's fourth film? Perhaps he's aiming at Beethoven and Mozart status, and we can look forward to speaking in hushed voices of "Tarantino's Fifth". Oh, and we have "The Making Of..." titles too. What claptrap!
Altogether, though many try to justify it as homage to this and that, or coo over its uniqueness, it is only a silly pastiche, thrown together in the expectation that enough people will be fooled into paying for it. It insults the viewer, especially viewers like myself who think Tarantino does have some talent. You wouldn't know it from this turkey. Don't waste your time on it.