" ... to be continued."

Rating: Null/10 (17 March 2005)

I finally got to see, first hand, what all the "Kill Bill" fuss is all about. Unfortunately, it is only half a movie, so I am required to give it a rating of "4", expecting that after I see the second part, I will have rated the entire movie as "8". QT obviously set out to make a spoof of the martial arts movies of Asia, and did a good job. I really was entertained, and use of the exaggerated spurting of blood when a head or limb was cut off reminded me that the film is not to be taken seriously. Plus, the scene where "The Bride" single-swordedly defeated a trained army of perhaps 30 or so martial arts experts was pure "camp."
Thurman was a great choice to play "The Bride". She moves well and has a comedic timing that just works well. Lucy Liu is menacing as O-Ren Ishii. Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver and David Carradine as Bill complete the main cast. The whole story, which is secondary to the "look" of the picture, is Bill having left "The Bride" for dead at her wedding, and after recovery in a hospital, escapes and sets off the kill all those on her list. This first installment shows us how she gets rid of the first half of her list. I guess I will find out about the second half in due time. To be continued ...