The Tarantino Pentathlon Part 1 - The beginning of his return: Kill Bill Vol. 1

Rating: 8/10 (8 December 2003)

Not much of a story, but well executed

You know what the problem is with living in a small ass town in the southern part of the Netherlands? The problem is, that if you are unable to attend a screening of a film like Kill Bill, in it's first two weeks, no cinema within a 25 kilometer radius still has the film running on a big screen. Now that's what I call a problem! And how is one supposed to solve that? Watch Kill Bill on a small ass screen?? SOD THAT! Wait until it is released on video?? HELL NO!! So what does one do? One travels about 85 kilometers to the first big town, spends twelve bucks on the train-ticket, an additional 8,30 for the entrance fee in a multiplex far far away from home. In conclusion, one spends a hell of a lot of money and three hours on the train for about two hours of Tarantino on a big screen. When one has done all that, what do one do then you guess? Well, then One hopes that the film does not suck and let me tell you it doesn't.

The beginning of Kill Bill is quite rough and that sets the tone for the rest of the film, which is constructed the same way as Pulp Fiction, regarding the fact that the story is not told in it's chronological form. Now I agree with the critics with the fact that Kill Bill does not have too much of a story, but one can see that there is still much to come in Volume II. Not only is The Bride's kept secret from the audience, but the really great and in also surprising ending hints at somewhat more story and more surprises in the second film.

I must say that I am a fan of Tarantino's work as a director and I found it astonishing that even with this film he managed to surprise me, for Kill Bill is unlike any of his other films. It bears somewhat a resemblance with Jackie Brown, with which Q dived deeply into another genre of movie-making and that is exactly what he does with Kill Bill. Kill Bill is a martial arts, revenge film, with spaghetti western and anime influences that I must say he mixed astonishingly well, despite having a bit of a with the animated chapter in the film myself in the beginning.

The music in the film is (once again) great and the characters, although not all are elaborate and some seem quite shallow are characterized in a believable and good way by the actors. Besides Uma Thurman, who portrays the Bride, I especially liked Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii. The character she portrayed suited her very well and she pulled off the mean and devilish little 'godfather' with style. If Lucy did a really good job, I must say that Uma RULED. I mean she just acted in great fashion and I think this film is her best performance since Pulp Fiction. Maybe some would say that it is even better acting-wise. I do not want to be the judge on that and the only thing I can say is that she is as great as The Bride as she was as Misses Mia Wallace. If you don't believe it, watch the film and especially the 'wake-up' scene. If you don't think that is great acting, you're probably still in the 'Stallone is the best actor ever' phase.

The film itself, (yes you read and heard correctly everywhere) is quite brutal, with limbs flying around and blood gushing out of wounds as it does in manga films at times. But the fact is that in my opinion it could have been (and needed be) much more brutal. The thing I am referring to here is the Massacre at the House of Blue Leaves. I mean what the heck was Q thinking when he made the switch from colored film to black and white? Or does this relate to the fact that the American and European version is much less violent than the Asian version of the film? Is it all in color over there and did the film manage to get an R rating because the blood and killing were in black and white instead of being in color? Well I do not know, but I had some real difficulty with the film switching to black and white and I think I would have enjoyed the killing more if it had been in color. I guess I'll see what that was all about when this film comes out on DVD.

The carnage and destruction in Kill Bill never gets boring or ridiculous (as it did in Matrix: Revolutions) and despite the fact that some things need getting used to, Kill Bill: Volume I is a film that makes 110 minutes seem pretty short indeed. I agree that there is not much of a story, but then again, the stories of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction were not too elaborate either. The thing with Tarantino is, that his execution of a story is always top-notch (including this film). This film may not be as thrilling as Reservoir Dogs, as cool as Pulp Fiction, as complicated and mysterious as Jackie Brown, but I sure as hell enjoyed myself and certainly did not regret having spent so much time and money, since in the end I got something back as well. I for one can't wait until 2004, when The Bride will FINALLY Kill Bill.

7,5 out of 10

post scriptum: How did the Bride knew it had been four years?