Tarantino's Return to Violence

Rating: 9/10 (4 December 2015)

I have been watching Tarantino's films in chronological order by release date in preparation for The Hateful Eight. After the intricate drama which was Jackie Brown, Tarantino returns to the use of violence with Kill Bill Vol. 1, and he adds so much more violence to the film than any of his previous 3. We have Kill Bill Vol. 1 using violence as a spectacle in many ways, especially in the climactic "chapter" of the film.
Like Jackie Brown, Tarantino decides to go with a female protagonist to portray the powerful woman in modern society. Feminism is a large motif in the first part of the whole bloody affair. Yes, The Bride fights men in this film, but the film's main antagonists are strong women who have worked alongside The Bride in the past. The battles are no longer fought by men, guys; the women in this film put men in their place as they are intelligent, maniacal, but above all, simply bad-a**es.
Whereas Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown were more "intelligent" films, this one is probably one of the most fun Tarantino movies to watch. It also has a simple premise/motivation which we have seen often before: revenge. But revenge has never been done quite like this. The blood effects in this film are ridiculous beyond any form of rationality, making certain deaths gruesome but at the same time, somewhat pleasing in a twisted fashion. Not only is anime employed to highlight the background of Lucy Liu's character - Tarantino gets away with huge uses of blood in a more "appropriate" manner than if he were to form these scenes as live action segments. It also adds to the idea that the movie is supposed to be fun and cartoonish.
Whereas I have discussed that Tarantino uses dialogue in his first three films to build characters, there is not much "interesting" dialogue in this film as much as narrations by The Bride, but this film doesn't seem to need the witty, clever dialogue we are so used to in Quentin Tarantino films.
With an astounding cliffhanger of an ending, this film makes you crave for more as the credits roll. This is a fun piece of feminist film to say the least, even if the film is desperate for flashbacks and narration at certain moments.
3.5/4.0