A triumph of hype over substance

Rating: 6/10 (12 May 2005)

It took me a long time to get around to Kill Bill; partly because I'm not a huge fan of martial arts movies, and partly because I find QT's elevation to movie-god status a little premature. There is a lot to like in this film. The photography is excellent, the cast is strong, and the story is quirky. However, Tarantino has got carried away with his homage to Asian movies and Japanese comics. The plot is just too silly, and it's quite unbelievable that none of the 88's pull a gun on the Bride. Stuff the swordplay - bodyguards should kill to protect without worrying about honour. QT is also clearly fixated on blood. He started with pools of it in Reservoir Dogs; now we're treated to huge fountains and lakes. It reminded me immediately of the Black Knight sequence in the Holy Grail or the other Python sketch: Anyone for Tennis? How can Sophie survive after losing so much blood so quickly? The cast: Uma Thurman looks as fabulous as ever and delivers lines and moves with aplomb, and I really enjoyed Lucy Liu as an evil gang boss. Daryl Hannah doesn't feature enough in Vol.1 to judge, nor Carradine. Vivica Fox is effective in her brief segment, although who in the hell would stop a fight to the death and drink a coffee because a kid comes home? Anyway she didn't write the script so can't blame her for that. Best moment: the fight between the Bride and O-Ren Ishii in the snow, with the bamboo water holder tipping metronomically in the background. I will watch Vol. 2 because I'm interested to find out the rest of the story, plus QT films are always worth at least one viewing, but I certainly won't bother to see either part twice. This is definitely not his best work. By the way, is it just me, or is it pretentious to put in the titles "Quentin Tarantino's 4th Film"? I would love to see him apply his undoubted talents to more serious and substantial screenplays. Maybe he could have a go at an historical epic to start off with?