Not really worth watching for interesting reasons

Rating: 3/10 (6 September 2005)

I don't really understand the point of this movie. You can say all you want about slick film-making style and post-modern commentary on exploitation films of the 70's, but it still doesn't disguise that this film has not one ounce of originality.
It doesn't comment on the movies it parodies in any significant way, it just sort of copies them in an exaggerated fashion. Imagine, if you will, taking Leatherface, from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, making him ten feet tall. Now imagine that every time he touches something with his chainsaw, gallons of blood spurt out. And instead of four or five kids, there are twenty. Kill Bill is kind of like this. It's action scenes aren't funny, or exciting, or insightful. They are just over the top. At no time did I ever think "Wow, that was cool!" Occasionally, we get an interesting plot deviation and this is where the movie usually picks up for a bit, but then, unfortunately, it never follows up and we get back into the revenge plot. This plot just leads from one lifeless action scene to the next.
Now, one thing I hate is a martial arts movie with poor martial arts. This isn't the worst that I have ever seen, but it's pretty uninspiring. I don't know what kind of background Uma Thurman has, but she generally looks lost in the fights. Instead of a exciting, kinetic experience, it looks as if you are watching the half speed rehearsals.
Even Tarantino's famed dialogue fails here. There are very good moments (mostly in Kill Bill 2), but mostly it falls flat because it is constrained by what he is trying to do. The revenge plot dialogue is just too cheesy, and once again, not in a good way. It just seems stilted and uninteresting. Eye-rollingly bad at points. Especially the "Silly Rabbit" line during Lucy Lui's fight scene.
One thing you can't argue with, however, is the technique. This film is a masterwork of lighting and camera work. Set design, costuming, and sound design are all top notch. Really good choice in color. This film is great to watch with the sound turned off just to study the picture.
I would suggest that people watch this movie at least once, just because it is in the popular culture. But don't expect Pulp Fiction. It's more like the Fourth Room, without Tim Roth.