Over the top! But fun to watch!

Rating: 8/10 (7 February 2016)

Quentin Tarantino's action/drama Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is an edge-of- your-seat movie about love, revenge, and retribution. Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman) plays the role of a bride who was wronged by her former "friends" and "co-workers" by being gunned down in the middle of her wedding in the middle of El Paso, Texas. Beatrix, known by her former team members as Black Mamba, wakes up out of her 4 year coma, realizes her child is gone, and sets out on a bloody path of killing and revenge.
The movie begins with a confusing battle between two people that seemingly know each other, all while being interrupted by Vernita Green's (Vivica A. Fox.) daughter. The back story of the movie picks up after this scene to bring the audience up to speed. This also reveals the ultimate prize intended at the end of this rampage, Bill (David Carradine), but not much in the way of details as to what happened, and why it happened.
This style of production is common throughout the film, Tarantino would show a scene or two ahead of time, and the next "chapter" would be the back story on what led up that specific event. Tarantino made special efforts in his production to leave story lines and plots easy to decipher, and easy to follow, but leaving out specific details to leave the viewer in suspense and wonder. This brings answers to many questions in the particular scene, but would often raise more questions.
Tarantino also ensured the lighting throughout the film was clean, clear, and even. In the fight scenes the lighting was not dimmed or shaded to hide flaws in the fighting, or bring mystery to scene, but was ensure to be bright and vibrant with distinct colors to being the audience's attention to the action carried out in each scene. In the final fight scene with O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), the scene was dark, but well-lit at the same time. The scene was an outdoor terrace in Japan, with a thick blanket of snow covering the ground. The elements in this scene were minimalistic, but it brought a "clean" feeling to the entire sequence. The overhead lighting outside was distinctly low, but also enough to bring light from the snow, and accentuate the actors and their positions. The high contrast removed distractions from the storyline.
The storyline had its own uniqueness, but the classic story of coming back from the (almost) dead to seek vengeance is a common theme. This reminds me of the recently released movie, The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Tarantino did not develop a completely new storyline or theme, but his production and direction to this movie definitely made it distinct, and very fun to watch.