A cinematic masterpiece

Rating: 8/10 (10 October 2003)

I wasn't sure what to expect from the "fourth film by Quentin Tarantino" (although arguably, his involvement as a writer and producer exceeds this immensely) not because I doubted what he is capable of, but mainly because the critics have hyped this film up so much, and yet there was nothing to really suggest whether the film would live up to it. From what I have read and seen of it, it did look like it would be some kind of a mindless action film and not much else. When Leicester Square offered an early showing in the UK of this film, I jumped at the chance to see it to find out once and for all. And the good news is, I wasn't disappointed.
From the second the film starts, you can instantly tell this is a true Tarantino film simply on his trademark way of shooting which takes no prisoners; To anyone that might have walked out on this film, I have to ask "Did you really think you could summon the devil and make him behave?" No, thankfully, anyone who was worried that Q.T. might have compromised the violence aspect of the film can put their minds to rest. Not only is ultra-violence a key aspect of the film, but the constant psychological suffering of The Bride herself and the physical suffering of any of her victims won't go unnoticed. You really do feel an empathy for The Bride, and even when you think she's gone too far, she still holds true to her morals drawing the line between those that have done anything to her (or about to) and those who can't.
Next aspect to tackle is the common "Quentin Mould" that people have been worried about, which is the lack of dialogue. It's true speech doesn't play a key- role in this film, but what I love about it so much is that the film doesn't play in any chronological order, and because of that, the story makes more sense as it goes along - the characters don't recap on anything that's happened because they already know, so you're left to do a lot guess work rather than having it spoon-fed to you. Any dialogue which is in the film doesn't go to waste for example when The Bride has a running commentary will explain what you need to know, there is still a fantastic element of comedy still in the film, which does provide just the right amount of comic relief when it's needed most, at the most unexpected of places. There's still a lot of room for more dialogue in Volume 2 of the film, so for this half, you should just sit back and watch the blood flow.
The film is split into five chapters for the first Volume, which, as I mentioned, aren't totally in order, however it really does make the film more enjoyable to watch that way. Each chapter has their own tale a la 'Pulp Fiction' and linked to each other in their ways - one of which "The origin of O-Ren Ishi" is done totally in Anime (Manga to most) - which was actually animated in Tokyo, and like the most of the film is of extreme violence, but with the added power that the film is allowed to go that little bit further, going to Number 11 on the violence level just when you thought you had seen enough. It's a really excellent touch to the film and just proves that Q.T. is more than willing to spread his horizons more than just being known for doing the same thing.
Anyone who has accused this of "taking the piss out of kung-fu movies" will be eating their words very soon. In actual fact, it's more of a Samurai film, which is more appropriate as a lot of the film takes place in Japan (and not Hong-Kong), but anything from the directing for the Kung-Fu-esque scenes in Tokyo, the men with the silly masks to the Yellow and Black suite (worn by Bruice Lee on his last film) should only be seen as a tribute to other great films out there, and when the lights go out and they fight in silhouette, you will only be thankful.
All in all, Kill Bill Volume 1 defeated my expectations, it's great to see Tarantino back in true form, and I can only say that Uma Thurman is probably the hardest female character, shattering the likes of Linda Hamilton in 'Terminator 2' and Angelina Jolie in `Tomb Raider' on all grounds as well as being a fantastic actress all the way through. The cliffhanger at the end will have you holding your breath until Volume 2 comes out in February. I can hardly wait. 8/10