Now that I think about it...

Rating: 8/10 (12 March 2004)

When I walked out of the theater a few months ago, these were my thoughts:
-Uma was excellent
-The music was excellent
-The cinematography was excellent
-Some of the fight scenes went on a bit too long
-I wish my back yard looked like the setting of the final fight (japanese, snowy)
Suffice it to say, I thought the movie was good, but I was not blown away.
The strange thing is, long after seeing the film, I still remember many parts of it vividly and look back at it fondly. I have even considered going to see it again. After letting it sink in I have realized that I like this movie much more than I initially thought.
Kill Bill vol. 1 is so "out there" that it is impossible to guess what it will be like by reading reviews. It is definitely not what I was expecting, and I think is what initially kept me from liking it as much as I do now that I have had time to reflect on it.
It seems to me that a lot of the negative reviews here are based on a preconceived notion of the movie. If you haven't seen Kill Bil vol. 1 yet, I suggest you throw any preconceived notions you might have out the window.
In particular:
-This is not Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, or Jackie Brown.
-This is not a 70's martial arts film.
-This movie is not going to be entirely realistic
-This movie is not going to be entirely unrealistic
-Whatever you're seeing in your head right now, when you try to imagine what this movie is like, is wrong.
Kill Bill is definitely one of the most unique movies I have seen in quite some time, and a very good one at that. I'm looking forward to the second volume.
-Mike