Ode to Superficiality

Rating: 5/10 (9 September 2009)

Some people argue that there isn't anything most boring than a revenge story. It's really nothing more than someone going around killing people in escalating violence, and with paper-thin characters. Kill Bill certainly reinforces that perception.
Uma Thurman plays a super-assassin who's betrayed by her former teammates on the day her wedding. After years in a coma, she wakes up seeking nothing but revenge. And for more than three hours of movie (I'm already including vol. 2 - God forbid vol. 1 actually had 3 hours!) what follows is repetitive action involving martial arts and swords.
Of course Quentin Tarantino is up to his usual gimmicks, so we see everything out of order and he inserts little stories in the main story in a poor attempt to flesh out uninteresting characters.
The tone of the movie is silliness combined with austerity. The characters' every action - whether talking or walking - is in a slow, very composed manner, full of solemnity, like they're doing something really deep. But then they're one-dimensional shadows, so everything they say is rubbish no matter how disguised it is with wanna-be philosophy. Everything is fake and unconvincing.
Only Tarantino's camera work is interesting in this movie; the way he crafts a fight scene is really amazing, I'd even say epic. Unfortunately he's not designing videogames.
I guess people who watch Kill Bill will get exactly what they know they will: superficial fluff with 'cool' lines and characters, and lots of violence. I'm sad to say I want more from my movies.