Back with a vengeance!

Rating: 8/10 (24 October 2006)

After the enormous critical and commercial success earned by "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction", director Quentin Tarantino found himself in the desired position of being able to do literally anything he wanted. So after the commercial failure of the underrated gem, "Jackie Brown", back in 1997, he spent 6 years preparing what would be his ultimate tribute to the 70s and the films he loves so much. "Kill Bill" is the name of the movie where Tarantino shows off everything he admires of cinema while telling the story of a nameless character (created by Uma Thurman) in a simple story of revenge spiced up by a retro 70s imagery and countless of references to classic movies. At its core, it's a very stylized action film, but "Kill Bill" is also an ode to those films (Westerns, Crime and Martial Arts films mainly) that gave fun to Mr. Tarantino when he was a young lad.
As written above, the plot is actually very simple; four years after being attacked during her wedding by her former teammates, a former professional assassin codenamed Black Mamba (Uma Thurman) awakes from a coma discovering that everyone at the chapel that day (including her unborn baby) have been murdered. Decided to take revenge on those who ruined her life, the Black Mamba (now The Bride) makes a list of the ones that attacked her that day and starts her quest hunting for the members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad until she fins the leader. Her former boss and ex lover, Bill (David Carradine).
Many critics have called "Kill Bill" negatively a prime example of "style over substance" film-making, but I think that those critics are missing the point. In the end, "Kill Bill" is not about if The Bride succeeds or not, but about how and what she does to achieve her goal; and instead of being another exercise in storytelling, this film is actually a very graphic love letter to 70s cinema, complete with all its clichés and imagery. From the Kato masks to the Samurai duels, and from the Hattori Hanzo character (played by Sonny Chiba) to Bruce Lee's yellow jumper, "Kill Bill" is a gorgeous tribute to all those classic action films of old.
Despite being an overtly visual and stylish action film, Tarantino's strength has always being the dialogs, and so he manages to make the simple story interesting by focusing on the details of the plot, mainly the back-story of the characters. Developing the characters has always been an essential for Tarantino, and "Kill Bill" is not an exception. It's really this focus what gives the film heart making it to stand out among other films about violence (as violence seems to be the theme of at least "Vol. 1") while keeping the "70s tribute" angle of the film. Crafted with a fast-packed style that looks like a stylized mixture of western and martial arts movie genres, that flows smoothly never becoming boring or tiresome.
Uma Thurman is really the force that drives the film, and on her shoulders is the responsibility of the film's success. Fortunately, she manages to create a complex character that while very aggressive, its still very feminine and really likable despite the fact that she is a cold blooded killing machine. Lucy Liu delivers a low-key performance as O-Ren Ishii, former teammate of "The Bride" and the main enemy in this chapter. Basically an antithesis of The Bride, O-Ren is also quite complex in the sense that is a character that has made a lot of sacrifices to become a top assassin and head of the Japanese mafia. The final confrontation between the two is certainly the highlight of the film. The rest of the cast is very effective, although we don't see too much of them (Tarantino makes the wise move of focusing on the development of the two main characters only). It's nice to see Sonny Chiba, Gordon Liu and Kenji Oba in cameos across the film.
"Kill Bill Vol. 1" is just the first part of The Bride's Saga, covering her awakening and the beginning of her revenge, as well as the more action-oriented part of the saga. It could also be said that this is the "70s martial arts tribute" part of the story, as "Vol. 2" is situated in a slightly different context (I even believe they were conceived as two films from the start), although still a "70s tribute" film that concludes the story. Overall the film is quite exiting, although it probably won't be too attractive to people expecting a more complex and detailed story. While the characters are very well-developed and the plot is rich in details, the film's focus is highly visual rather than plot-driven, so people expecting an insightful film in this aspect (or even people expecting similar film to "Reservoir Dogs" or "Jackie Brown") will be highly disappointed.
While personally I consider "Vol. 2" a vastly superior movie, "Kill Bill Vol. 1" is an excellent action film that can stand on its own delivering great entertainment and fast-packed action in high doses. As a beautifully done tribute to 70s cinema, this movie excels. 8/10