Disappointing

Rating: 6/10 (14 October 2003)

***SPOILERS***
Being a fan of Tarantino and Pulp Fiction, I had been eagerly awaiting Kill Bill for months. Maybe my expectations were too high because when the movie was over, I was disappointed.
Fist of Legend (1994) is still the standard by which I compare all other martial arts movies to, and although the tone of Kill Bill is different, it doesn't hold up.
Like his previous films, Tarantino uses non-linear storytelling, a technique that became so prevalent during late nineties. A straightforward narrative would have been more appropriate for this revenge epic.
As many other people have commented, Kill Bill is all style and no substance. Character development is one Tarantino's strengths, but there's barely any of it here. In fact, the character with the most depth is O-Ren Ishii, whose background is told through a beautifully animated sequence. But so what? All that information that we learn about her serves no purpose and is negated because she's killed off at the end of the movie.
Although the fight choreography by Yuen Woo-Ping is good, it doesn't compare to his previous efforts like Snake in Eagle's Shadow, Fist of Legend, or Tai Chi Master. The finish to each big fight is anti-climatic. Vernita Green got a knife thrown into her heart, Go Go got a board with nails stuck in her head, and O-Ren Ishii got the top of her head lopped off. For three villains that were supposedly lethal assassins, they died like chumps.
As it stands, I can only give Kill Bill a 6/10.