Thank you, Mr. Tarantino

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2007)

Amongst the seven films Quentin Tarantino has directed to date, Kill Bill vol. 1 has got to be the most pretentious of the lot. A revenge tale cut into two feature films due to its overlong running time, part one brings us the color and style, whilst part 2, that was released to theaters half an year later, is a much lesser film (in my opinion) that contains more plot and substance, but lacks the fresh and surprisingly stylish cool breath the first installment had to offer.
Talking about style, Kill Bill vol. 1 is all over the place. Tarantino quotes Klingon catch phrases, gives out an outstanding homage to 1970's Kung Fu features, mixes it up with anime and an outrageous non-linear story as an intriguing plot device  and covers it all up with one of the best soundtracks ever heard to date. "Do you find me sadistic?", Bill asks our protagonist, a catatonic bride, beaten to a deadly pulp on the day of her wedding. What Tarantino really wants to know is do we think he's a sadistic fellow himself, teasing us with all these genres, jumping from one end of the plot to another, and probably hailing to himself all the while "I've done it! I'm a genius!"
So yes, Mr. Tarantino, you are a genius. Taking a semi "been there-done that" story of a vengeful Bride out on a murderous rampage to avenge her near death experience after spending four years in a coma, and turning it into solid gold, is not an easy task to live up to. There were some Tarantino films where I really couldn't understand where he was going with the story. In this case, the plot is very clear even with all the continuity issues and each of the actors shine in their respective roles. Tarantino created a whole new world of organized crime on screen, carefully crafting the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad from colorful characters, with fine actresses like Lucy Liu and Darryl Hanna giving out gorgeous performances. But all these superlatives can't be enough to describe the extravagant nature of Uma Thurman's portrayal of the aching, humane, vengeful Bride.
Watch out for the training scenes with Sony Chiba's Hattori Hanzo, the Bride's final battle against the Crazy 88 (I've never scene so many limbs chopped off in such an artistic manner; even the horrific sprays of blood seems choreographed right down to the very last one), and the dramatic opening scene, which shows us the Bride taking the bullet that put her into the coma, seconds after confessing to Bill who's the father of her unborn child. Once the credits started to roll and Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" started playing in the background, I was hooked.
Thank you, Mr. Tarantino.