Stylish film with impressive fight scenes, but overlong and unsatisfying

Rating: Null/10 (26 February 2009)

This film was a relative letdown for me. Unlike Kill Bill: Vol II, Vol I has little by way of substance. It's an incomplete chapter of a revenge saga and doesn't fully satisfy. Indeed, after watching Vol II, I felt that Vol I was overlong and superfluous, and could have been dispensed with entirely. However, the film is VERY stylish. The fight scenes are impressive and Uma Thurman looks cool as she dispatches hundreds of men to their deaths with a samurai sword. David Carradine's role is severely limited which is a pity. There is a long anime sequence which is hyper-violent but works. Watchable.
Overall 6/10