Kill Bill - a major disappointment. All style, no substance.

Rating: 7/10 (20 October 2003)

Kill Bill did not live up to its promise. Interestingly, preceding the movie I saw previews for Lord of the Ring: The King Returns and Matrix Revolutions. Both films rely heavily on film technique, martial arts/fighting, and violence. The difference between Kill Bill, and LOTR and Matrix, is that Kill Bill has no substance and invokes no emotional resonance with me. LOTR and Matrix in contrast, tell a compelling story on multi-levels.
Unfortunately Kill Bill is all flash, all technique, all form (borrowed and copied), and no story that resonates with the audience. I felt nothing on walking out of the movie. I never got involved with any character. I sat back and watched the movie noting and appreciating its technique, music, and staged fights. More importantly, I felt sad that Tarentino's considerable talents are wasted on copying and inflating the martial arts form instead of using that form to tell a compelling story. Kill Bill is that classic movie Â– style over substance. Maybe Q. Tarentino Is not interested in stories with emotional content. Maybe he is just interested in the technique of telling a story.