SEE THIS MOVIE!!! - SPOILERS

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 2003)

It must have been great to be a serious moviegoer in the 70's. Alien, Apocalypse Now, Badlands, Chinatown, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter, Deliverance, The Godfather, Jaws, Mean Streets, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Papillon, Star Wars and Taxi Driver all hitting the screens, serving up something creative, fresh and inspiring.
Whilst audiences these days are subjected to remakes, sequels (many of which leave a bitter taste), and effects driven movies (where even some pornography has more plot and dialogue.) So when a film like Kill Bill comes along, you make a point of seeing it. Especially when maverick-director Quentin Tarantino is at the helm.
In his forth (and easily his most ambitious) venture behind the lens audiences are treated to what Tarantino himself describes as his `grindhouse epic', a film which ricochets through a wide range of genres such as Kung-fu, Spaghetti Western, Hong Kong action, Yakuza gangster thriller, Japanese anime and theatrical samurai saga.
Any wonder it was chopped into two parts!
Uma Thurman stars as The Bride. Formerly a key member of the elite ViPER assassination squad, headed by the mysterious Bill (David Carradine.) When she attempts to break free and start a new life her plans come crashing to a halt when her former colleagues (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah and Vivica A. Fox) show up at her wedding and slaughter everyone in sight.
They leave The Bride and her unborn child for dead not realising that they have only put her in a coma. Four years later when she comes to, she seeks a bloody revenge. And hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, her ultimate goal being - to kill Bill.
Nancy Sinatra sings: `Bang bang, I hit the ground. Bang bang, that awful sound. Bang bang, my baby shot me down.' as the opening credits role, and watching the screen intently, I find it hard to believe that nearly six years have passed since Tarantino has released a film.
So was it worth the wait?
Absolutely, Kill Bill will divide audiences like a civil war, with the word `violence' a major player. More blood is witnessed on screen than in any other mainstream movie I've ever seen. But you can take it or leave it.
And if you were happy to name drop QT after the success of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, but didn't `get' his '97 adaptation of Elmore Leonard's `Rum Punch' the film that became Jackie Brown. Then Kill Bill may not be your thing, with the pop culture references and the witty repartee taking a back seat in Volume 1.
Miramax big man Harvey Weinstein should be congratulated for giving his full blessing to this project and Quentin Tarantino deserves even more recognition for his artistic merit and brilliant work here. I sincerely hope his critics do, as is suggested earlier: `Take it, or leave it.
When Clockwork Orange was released in the 70's it was easily the bravest film to come out of a major studio. Then came Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers in '94 (an early Tarantino script.) In Stone's film Woody Harrelson's mass mudering character Mickey Knox tells the press as he's about to have his day in court; "You ain't seen nothin' yet."
Until you see Kill Bill: Volume 1 you haven't.
Five VERY BIG stars!