A Violent Pop Culture Extravaganza

Rating: 8/10 (4 September 2005)

"Kill Bill: Volume 1" is a film that's all about style. Style, violence, and pure entertainment. Some call it gratuitously violent, some call it disgusting, some call it style-over-substance...I call it magnificent.
The film follows a woman known simply as The Bride (Thurman) (her real name is never revealed), an expert assassin who, while pregnant, was left for dead at her wedding by her criminal employer, Bill (Carradine), after her former, um, co-workers massacred her entire wedding party. Well, four years later she wakes up from a coma (as a situation that is as amusing as it is disgusting and brutal arises, I won't spoil it for you) and, upon discovering that she has lost her baby, becomes enraged and embarks on an epic odyssey of bloody revenge.
In classic Tarantino form, the film is presented out of order, but, as always for him, it works wonderfully. "Kill Bill: Volume 1" also exhibits another trait that is signature Tarantino: it's packed to the brim with homages. While many may complain about this and say that Tarantino is nothing but a flamboyant plagiarist, it is what he does, and he does it well. Very well.
Another gripe many people seem to have with the film is that it is overly violent, repulsively so. This seems to have been a popular complaint also with Tarantino's first two films, "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction", and while I believe those two films have more of a violent reputation than actual violence, "Kill Bill: Volume 1" really is extremely violent. However, it is not gritty or realistic violence meant to be taken seriously, but comically over-the-top violence in the style of the Kung Fu and samurai films of '70s, replete with gallons of squirting blood and plenty of flying limbs.
Another pervasive complaint is that the film suffers from a severe case of style-over-substance, but, as I stated in the first sentence of this review, "Kill Bill: Volume 1" is all about style. It's what makes the film such a joy to watch. Quentin Tarantino works the camera and breezes through scenes so expertly and effortlessly that one can't help but keep their eyes glued to the screen. Also, this complaint is rendered obsolete once one has viewed the second volume of this epic saga, which really fleshes out the characters and adds meat to the bone, but I'm not reviewing that film.
Another talent Tarantino has is extracting a spectacular performance from his actors, and "Kill Bill: Volume 1" is no exception. Uma Thurman is simply outstanding, especially in Volume 2, but again, I'm reviewing Volume 1. David Carradine delivers such a menacing and exuberant performance as the elusive Bill, and we never even see his face.
And of course, how could I forget Quentin's marvelous dialogue? It has always been his strongest point, and "Kill Bill: Volume 1" finds him in top pop culture form. Allow me to quote one of my favorite exchanges from the film: -O-Ren Ishii: "You didn't really think it was going to be that easy, did you?" -The Bride: "You know, for a second there, yeah, I kinda did." -O-Ren Ishii: "Silly rabbit." -The Bride: "Trix are for..." -The Bride and O-Ren Ishii: "...kids." It's just so self-consciously tongue-in-cheek and joyous that it's damn near impossible not to fall in love with it.
All this being said, "Kill Bill: Volume 1" is not a film for everyone. If you're a fan of such films as "Sin City", "Ichi The Killer", or any kind of classic Kung Fu movie, then you'll most likely love this modern masterpiece, but if such films rape, kill, and then shoot your value system in the head just for good measure, than you should probably avoid this one.
9/10