Film of the year?

Rating: Null/10 (1 November 2003)

*Possible Spoilers*
Well, that remains to be seen. However, Kill Bill may be Quentin Tarantino's finest film to date (and this is coming from somebody who rates Pulp Fiction as one of their all-time favourite films).
The plot is minimal, but then it doesn't need to be anything else. Uma Thurman's "The Bride" wakes up after spending over four years in a coma, caused by a bullet to the head at her wedding. When she wakes, she seeks revenge on the people who robbed her of four years of her life- and possibly- her unborn child. This includes Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu), Californian Mountain Snake (Daryl Hannah), Copperhead (Vivica A. Fox) and eventually (hence the title of the two films)Bill (David Carradine).
Many users and critics have stated that to enjoy the movie, a knowledge of martial arts and Japanese cinema is mandatory. True, if you are familliar with these movies, you will stand a better chance of understanding all the stylistic and thematic material on display here. However, I have very little knowledge of the genre Tarantino is paying tribute to, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first volume of Kill Bill.
Another key element of the film is the violence. Much has been written about this, including the controversial decision in America, to grant the film an R rating. The violence in Kill Bill is the icing on the cake. The fighting takes place in an alternate plain of reality, a stylised movie world which knows it is a stylised movie world. Quentin is constantly toying with the audience- experimenting with their preconceptions of where the boundary of reality and fiction lie. His deliberately outrageous, cartoonish blood-letting is both a tribute to his favourite movies and his little joke.
However, the real joy of Kill Bill is in its pure unadulterated entertainment value. Quentin obliterates the option of boredom through his flawless direction and, as previously mentioned, wonderfully stylised violence. The soundtrack is effortlessly cool and charcteristically offbeat, ranging from Nancy Sinatra to RZA. The use of different media such as black and white, colour and anime make the experience even more complete and memorable.
However, when reviewing Kill Bill, it is hard to ignore Uma Thurman's presence. Her performance treads a fine line between reality and the personification of revenge. She epitomises what Quentin is trying to achieve- in so much as she is sex, violence and cool on legs. Whether this is her greatest performance so far, is to be seen (Kill Bill volume two needs to come out, for me to reach this conclusion)but she is damn fine as Black Mamba and QT was wise in delaying filming for her.

It's not deep, profound or original, but Kill Bill Volume one, will be one of the best things you'll see at the movies all year. I was thinking while watching this masterpiece, that having the amount of fun I was having, was almost probably illegal.