Style over substance? Perhaps, but it's stunning style

Rating: 8/10 (20 October 2003)

SPOILERS
So here he is again. Mr Tarantino has released another movie, and as with the rest of his works, it's a gem.
Kill Bill Volume 1 (I'll never get used to there being two volumes, but then, it'd be enourmous if not split in two) stars Uma Thurman as "The Bride" who is attacked on her wedding day by Bill's Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, and placed in a coma for four years. Awakening to the realisation that her unborn baby, and the entire wedding contingent have all been killed, she sets off in an attempt to get revenge on those five people responsible.
In this film, Tarantino pays homage to all those Bruce Lee types of films which he adores (and which the Vega's and co from his other films would also adore, hence "I'm writing a film my characters from my other films would probably watch at the movies"), and he does it very well. The fighting is almost constant, incredibly gory and extreme, but cleverly done and without any cgi (makes a good change). The outfits are stylish and well suited to the film, the same going for the stunning soundtrack, and the acting is up to the standard required.
To be honest, the one flaw with Kill Bill which everyone will pick up on is the relatively little ammount of quality substance regarding dialogue. These people would have a fair point, as I admit that for the first time, Tarantino has made a movie which doesn't make you want to quote it every five minutes (unlike the Royal with Cheese from Pulp Fiction, the tipping scene from Reservoir Dogs, and many many others). Ultimately though, that is ok. To make Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino has been incredibly brave and I sincerly hope it pays off for him. It's a bit of an epic film (or at least it will be once both parts are together on one video or dvd), but compared with all the other enourmous epics going around at the moment (Lord Of The Rings, The Matrix, etc), it's a pleasant change of pace and it's enough to make everyone smile. Well worth viewing.