It hooks you in from the very beginning and doesn't let you go until the end of Vol. 2.

Rating: 9/10 (31 August 2009)

I found it hard to write a review for this film, due to the fact I write them as I am going along whilst watching the film. This is so I can get everything down that is in my head onto paper. However, I couldn't take my eyes off this film to be able to do that. It hooks you in from the very beginning and doesn't let you go until the end of Vol. 2.
It opens up with the attempted murder of a pregnant bride (Uma Thurman). The audience only know, at this point, that the killer is a man called Bill who apparently is the father of her unborn child, though; he still tries to kill her after finding out this information. After being in a coma for four years, she decides to begin her revenge on those who were involved her attempted murder. This begins with Vernita Green (Vivian Fox), but not much is told about her, other than she regrets what she did and she is now a changed person because she has a daughter. It then goes to tell the story of what happened to Uma's character from the time she was in a coma, introducing the other characters of the film and a bit about their back story.
One back story which is presented beautifully is that of O-Ren Ishii, (Lucy Liu). It is a dark, disturbing tale that is shown through the means of anime. The images are amazing, but yet so wrong to watch. The story then progresses to find The Bride wanting a specific Samurai Sword to kill one O-Ren Ishii and her infamous Crazy 88. Whether she succeeds, well you will just have to watch the film and find out.
The cinematography, throughout the film is spectacular. Every shot looks like it is something out of a painting. This is particularly shown in the scene which contains the House of Blue Leaves. The type of image changes in different scenes, whether it is colour, anime or black and white, but each as amazing as the next. There is a huge exaggeration on the image of blood, it is bright red and the amount is huge. However, this does not make it seem comical or weird. It fits in with the story perfectly and gives it that special unique quality the whole film endeavours.
The acting is also something incredible. Uma Thurman creates a power within her character that lets the audience capture the true emotion she is going through. She is the definition of girl power. Lucy Liu's performance shocked me a little. She has an innocent look about her, but manages to create an absolutely terrifying character. I haven't seen her in a role like this before (her character in Charlie's Angels does not count) and her acting abilities shine through. I think the best performance though came from Chiaki Kuriyama who plays the character Gogo Yubari. Her character is a sadistic teenager who sends a chill down your spine each time she smiles, though she also creates a feeling that you should be slightly sorry for her even if she is crazy. The character is portrayed perfectly by Chiaki Kuriyama.
Another thing that gives this movie that something special is the music. It sets the whole tone and setting of the scenes. Credit also goes to the choreographers of the film who trained the actors to perform the amazing fighting scenes.
The final compliment I have for the film is that of the director and writer of the film, Quentin Tarantino. His imagination and skills have created something truly magnificent. It is a classic film that will be remembered in many years to come.
With all these compliments, there has to be some complaints and right now I can only think of one and it is a pretty pathetic one at that. The true identity of The Bride is kept hidden from the audience. They are not to learn her name until the second instalment when the audience learns the reasons on why she deserves the revenge she is giving out, only then does she deserve to have the right to a name. Until then though, it will be beeped out every time it is said in the most annoying way possible. If it was done in a slightly more subtle way it would have been fine, but it wasn't, so it is the only flaw in the movie that I have to write about.
Overall, fantastic movie!