More overrated Tarantino self-indulgence...

Rating: 5/10 (21 September 2004)

One has to constantly wonder what would happen were Quentin Tarantino put in a prison cell with Mark Brandon Read for a day or two. Given that the latter really has had his ears cut off and knows what happens during such impromptu surgery, I think the conversation alone would be rather interesting to say the least.
But this is a digression. Tarantino at least had the honesty to come out and say that this opus was a work of pure fantasy. This, however, does not save it from falling prey to Tarantino's trendiness. One has to hand it to him for being able to make something seem hip in an era where nobody seems to know what is "cool" anymore. Nonetheless, Kill Bill revels in its own supposed hip-ness to such an extent that in twenty years' time, it will no doubt be viewed with the same kind of contempt reserved for the likes of The Brady Bunch rather than the admiration films like RoboCop get as they near the age of twenty years.
Speaking of that august piece of true ultra-violence, Quentin Tarantino only serves to prove in this effort that in spite of all his pretensions, he is no Paul Verhoeven. In spite of his efforts to pull the same literal crucifixion of his hero, no emotional connection to The Bride is ever offered. The Bride is simply a loud bitch who kills people in front of their families or sadistically chops them apart. No good reason is given to want to see the bad guys dead, and thus the emotional impact of their death is non-existent.
To its credit, Kill Bill part one is very entertaining when one doesn't know what is going to happen next. The weird Kung Fu-style mentoring scenes with the swordsmith and the hospital scenes certainly stand out. The problem is that once you know what is going to happen, it just gets incredibly dull. The House Of Blue Leaves is probably one of the worst examples of music in a film I've seen outside of a blaxploitation effort. I would have given real money for that band to shut the hell up. Obviously, Tarantino was never told about what an impact the right music in a given scene can have upon the dynamics of a scene.
Uma Thurman was also a poor choice for the heroine. Someone like Lucy Liu, I could believe doing all these things, but Uma comes off as being too homely and sedate. Not to mention that she looks like she's from another planet, although that might have been an intentional aspect of her casting. In the end, I wanted to see Julie Dreyfus in action.
I gave Kill Bill, Vol. 1 a five out of ten. It is excellent proof of that old saying about first impressions being the best impressions. It is worth renting once, and once only.