Bloody homage to classic 70's kung-fu with a Tarantino twist!!

Rating: 10/10 (14 October 2003)

First things first. If you loved those old 60s and 70s Kung-fu flick you will in all likelihood love this movie. If you hate those type of movies, you may hate this movie.
With that out of the way, Tarantino beautifully takes memorable scenes from classic movies and gives it a Tarantino twist. Scene and music homages range from the old black and white samurai movies from the 50s, the aforementioned kung-fu movies of the 70s, Bruce Lee movies/tv show, classic western 70s action movies, the Night of the Living Dead, Sergio Spaghetti westerns, modern Japanese anime and culture, HK action operos, and on and on! Knowledgeable viewers will love picking out the little tidbits of classic movie icons (both visual and sound) in this gem! Only Tarantino can do this and make you smile (unlike other directors, in which viewers scoff at their lame rip-offs). I loved the scenes when Uma does something cool in which a corny 70s sounding "bionic" sound fx plays--absolutely fantastic!!!
For the detractors of this movie, see my above statement. One thing viewers have to realize is that since this movie is a homage mainly to the Shaw Brothers and other Grindhouse flicks of the 70s (did you notice the intro of the movie?) that it's going to be heavy on action and short on Tarantino's usual dynamic dialogue (which I missed except for the excellent scene with Chiba-sama). This movie doesn't take itself seriously and expects the audience to do the same! There is a reason for the corny 70s music and sound fx. It is to put the reader in the mindset that what will be seen will be over-the-top and dare I say--"goofy" for your average western viewer (for lack of a better word). When I first saw glimpses of the trailer (I didn't know it was a Tarantino flick) I knew it was going to be a action-heavy movie short on narrative. Obviously, seeing Uma wielding a samurai sword wearing a Bruce Lee "Game of Death" style jumpsuit surrounded by masked Kato men told me that this movie was going to be a comic book style flick. And in that, it did not disappoint at all. A great action flick from the man himself!!