Overall, `Kill Bill: Vol. 1' is an excellent film as Tarantino proves once again that his talent is unbeaten in this brand of cinema. ****

Rating: 10/10 (13 October 2003)

Quentin Tarantino returns his talents to theaters with the much anticipated `Kill Bill: Vol. 1.' In a `Charlie's Angels' meets `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' way, Tarantino has crafted a film with excessive violence and gore. Yet, the film is a marvel for its homage to samurai movies, as well as the commonly referred to 'spaghetti westerns,' westerns made in Italy such as `The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.' However, don't expect the entire movie in this showing-it actually runs over three hours and Tarantino cut the film in half. `Kill Bill: Vol. 2' opens in February. `Kill Bill' tells the story of Black Mamba (Uma Thurman), who's referred to as 'the bride,' a member of a band of international assassins whose boss, Bill, and team turn on her. On her wedding day, and being pregnant with her boss's child, she is brutally attacked and shot in the head. Luckily, she manages to survive and wakes up after being in a coma for four years. With the memories of the assault, she manages to escape the hospital seek out her killers. The first of them is Copperhead (Vivica A. Fox), who would appear to be a happy homemaker if it weren't for her deadly intentions. After Black Mamba takes care of Copperhead, she still has unfinished business with three other assassins of Bill's-the only other one we see her take on is Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu). She has to go after the assassins Budd (Michael Madsen), the California Mountain Snake (Daryl Hannah), and Bill (David Carradine). But we'll see those in volume two. Whether you're a fan of Tarantino's style or not, one can't deny his talent. His direction is astonishing, as well as his screenplay. The violence level that he incorporates isn't for the faint of heart. However, it's far more humorous than revolting. Its intention is to be satirical to violence in society and to ultimately pay homage to samurai films that inspired it. After all, don't most films that try to pay tribute to their inspirers by exaggerating the original intention? This is Tarantino's style-he wants us to be shaken and disgusted by the violence. He wants us to the leave the theater feeling tired and affected by it all.
Among other creative aspects, there is an anime sequence that shows the history of Cottonmouth. Assassins murdered her parents as she watched it all happen. It's the primary reason she becomes such a bloodthirsty person in her adulthood. You can expect witty dialogue that made `Pulp Fiction' so famous. This film's isn't as ongoing as `Pulp Fiction's,' however, this is only volume one, and Black Mamba hasn't gotten to her conspirator Bill, yet. Undoubtedly, she'll have some choice words for him. Also, consider the fact there's really only one story here. `Pulp Fiction' had several stories intertwining that required a great deal of dialogue to make the connections.
Other creative aspects of note that are smaller in scope, but equally important to the greatness of the film are the general format of the film, and the music. The film plays out like that of book. Tarantino splits the film into chapters as it focuses on character and plot development. The music fits the film like a glove. In traditional Tarantino style, he uses a great deal of 70s music that reflects the film's western and samurai impact, with a strong dose of disco which gives the film a hip feel.
Overall, `Kill Bill: Vol. 1' is an excellent film as Tarantino proves once again that his talent is unbeaten in this brand of cinema. ****