Ah Daniel son! This isn't.

Rating: Null/10 (20 November 2003)

I'll admit being a die hard fan of Tarantino I had a somewhat blinkered view of what this film would be like. However, my obsession was not dissapointed.
I'm not sure what effect Tarantino has on his girl friday Uma Thurman, but there is something dramatically different in her performances in his films than in any others. Thurman in this film is enigmatic from start to finish!
The plot loosely is, although I am expecting more twists and turns in the second installment, that Uma Thurman is left for dead by her colleagues, a deadly group of assasins, working for somebody called Bill and Charlie's angels they aren't! Thurman is in a coma for four years, in which she supposedly looses her unborn child, and when she wakes up she is looking for revenge. She makes a list of these people and when she has killed them crosses them off her list.
From the start to the finish this film shocks. And yes extreme violence is not that shocking these days as it is old hat, however, Tarantino does something a little bit more. It will sound very disturbing, but it is the creativity of the violence which makes it memorable. Like for instance the scene in the hospital when the man is about to rape the comatosed Thurman. As an audience we know that Thurman, anticipating the mans actions, will not just lay there and think of England, and will react with some sort of violence. However, I didn't think that she would tear his tongue off with her teeth.
The film is Tarantino's usual hip and slick self. Whilst with all of his films there will be bitching about the violence. I think that the film in its self is so compelling and atmospheric, that the violence in a way blends in. Like with Resevoir Dogs, much was made about the scene of ear cutting. However, I wonder had Michael Marsden not been so compelling to watch as an actor and the song stuck in the middle with you wasn't playing in the background, would the scene have been so memorable.
Speaking of acting, although Thurman has been mentioned, the ensemble cast were all very good too. I am especially looking forward the showdown with Daryl Hannah's character and Uma's.
Although at first it took me a little while to adjust to not seeing Tarantino's trade mark hipper than hip gansters replaced by kung foo, I still could see Tarrantino all over this film, and although some may complain about the two part thing, it did what it set out to do, left me wanting more.