Violence violence violence, oh....and a story.

Rating: 8/10 (2 November 2003)

I have given away the main feature of this film in the summary - violence. Ok, other Tarantino movies have been violent, and it would be naive to expect this latest offering to be as violence-free as a PG-rated cartoon flick, but it should not be the lasting memory of the movie. Perhaps i am missing the point of this movie, perhaps i was missing something - the plot seemed to be a simple case of revenge. Revenge exacted in a japanese style, which was reflected in the samurai sword massacreing of so many people. The effects are impressive - the anime sections are particularly well done, it really manages to make you move the emotions and make you cringe at the violence, which is impressive for what is essentially a cartoon section. The music, a vital part to most good movies, really makes this film for me - it is what makes it Tarantino. The music, mixing the old western stand-offs with the modern, makes up for the lack of really great lines - there were good ones, but no quotes of Pulp Fiction proportions. The lead role played by Uma Thurman could not have been played by anyone else - she is simply superb in the role, and Lucy Liu is impressive as a homicidal japanase-chinese-american samurai-sword-wielding mafia-esque leader. So was this a good movie?? Yes. It had essentially a plot which kept you interested, to the extent that i'm now eager to watch the second volume, and some great acting performances from the leads, with a fairly original section of anime (the crouching tiger hidden dragon moments weren't so impressive, for the obvious reason that they are now old-news). So why the emphasis on violence?? Ok, films are more violent these days, and this film to some extents needed to be this violent to succeed, otherwise this would be a fairly average film - the only problem i have with the level of violence is the way viewers seem to get de-sensitised to it, and even find it funny. I myself found it funny by the end. I just hope that there aren't people watching this movie and seeing that it makes people laugh who then decide to make their own comedy with their own violence. With more violence in movies comes the trust that people should be allowed to watch what they like, rather than censoring in case a few take it the wrong way and decide to imitate. Great film for the lads and gory-hunters, just don't take anyone with a weak stomach! I gave it 8 out of 10.