Disturbing but entertaining

Rating: 9/10 (20 January 2005)

This movie has been criticized for having no substance; no meat, as it were. Now, I'm no great fan of Tarrantino (in fact, I hadn't liked a single of his productions before this one), so there are no feelings to be hurt on his behalf. There is no other reason for me to defend this film, than the very real fact that I loved it!
The second issue is the "violence against women" issue. It's been said that this movie is like "A Clockwork Orange" in its demonstration of everything that is wrong with our society. Okay, as true as that may be, this film covers MANY societies, not just American. It also shows that the woman does NOT have to be the victim. She can (and should) stand on her own two feet and do something about her problems rather then waiting for some Prince Charming to come do it for her.
This plot and story has been detailed so many times on IMDb, that I won't even bother laying out the plot except to say that this plot was so well-conceived and executed as to win it 10 awards and gross nearly 4 times its original budget.
Every single artist involved in this attempt has surrendered a very compelling finished product in that it is a dark and lovely story (yes, it has a great story), that is embedded with some of the most synergistically graphic brutality I've ever witnessed on film. The action is unbelievable, the narrative is instrumental in moving the story along from scene to scene, and the score is as inspired as the screenplay.
The choreography by Sonny Chiba (who also portrayed Hattori Hanzo) was excellent and, when viewing the final work, looked natural and brilliant. And I must say that the soundtrack of this work was inspired and more than competently highlighted each scene in which the chosen music was featured.
If you haven't seen this, I highly recommend it. It's action, not horror or even drama. It's NOT for the squeamish.
It rates an 8.8/10 from...
the Fiend :.