Glad I could fast forward

Rating: 7/10 (8 January 2007)

Had not seen any comments about this movie, except that it was violent. Saw it on the small screen.
First impressions:
Lovely music to start it off. Shocking violence. The setting out of the movie into chapter headings, with narration - that's cool.
Then... Some surprisingly amusing pauses inserted into violent scenes. Little girl comes home from school... very funny. Visual gags. Sunglasses. Hand luggage on a plane. Sniggering now.
These humorous touches, and the cartoony nature of some scenes, help the viewer to take a different view of the violence somehow. Very clever.
Still... watching at home, I could fast forward through some of the fighting scenes. Not because the violence is too violent & bloody but because it goes on so long it gets boring. Maybe this is clever too. Maybe I'm supposed to become bored by the violence and maybe this says something about me. Or maybe it's simply boring.
The black and white sequence probably helped in averting the tedium, in fact; helped avoid "too-much-red" fatigue perhaps.
And then, I was disappointed that the story had no ending. Or that the film ended before the story ended. But (duh) it's Volume 1.
But I disagree with some commentators who said it was emotion free. There is some desperate emotion portrayed very powerfully by the lead part. And moments of respect and even tenderness between combatants.
Conclusion: surprisingly enjoyable even for someone who doesn't like violence. Funny, cool, entertaining fight scenes, which become tedious after a while, NOT emotion free, has a clear storyline... which doesn't conclude. What? It's finished?? Left me wanting more.