Visually stunning anime cartoon with human actors

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 2004)

I thought I'd hate this film. Over the top violence isn't my thing. Finally decided I should give it a try, and liked it so much I rented it twice, so my wife could see it too. Since I am not an afficionado of Hong Kong-style or Japanese-style or any other style action movies, and haven't ever seen a Bruce Lee movie, etc., I'm illiterate in the matter of all the homages Tarantino was paying. But I know a good story line when I see one, and the thing that was so interesting to me was that I found myself really caring about the Uma Thurman (Black Mambo) character and rooting for her in her justifiable quest for revenge. Considering what a killing machine she was, that was quite an accomplishment. Maybe Tarantino is just punk hype, and maybe he's only made 6 films to date (including Vol.2), but he's visually arresting and makes you ask why you identify with certain inherently evil characters when others (say Tony Soprano) fill you with revulsion. As to the mayhem, it was just a cartoon and not at all objectionable to anyone over the age of 6.