"Silly Caucasian girl likes to play with Samurai swords."
STARRING
Uma Thurman
Vivica A. Fox
Lucy Liu
Directed by Quentin Tarantino, rated R
Perhaps I should begin by saying that I have not seen any of Quentin Tarantino’s other movies. No, not even Pulp Fiction. So if you’re reading this wanting to know how I think it stands in comparison to his other films, you’ve come to the wrong place. All I can comment on is this film itself. And you know what? I don’t know how it is in comparison to his others, but it’s still pretty good.
The plot can be explained in two words: Kill Bill. That’s really all this movie is about. If you’re looking for a movie with a strong message or at least some deep “meaning” behind it all, this isn’t the movie for you. At its core, this is just another revenge flick. But it’s certainly different from any other revenge movies you’re likely to see, simply because of Tarantino’s style.
The basic storyline: Black Mamba (a.k.a The Bride) was once part of a group of assassins. She quit the group, tried to start a new life, and was supposedly murdered at a wedding rehearsal by her former associates. Four years later, she wakes up out of a coma to find that she’s still alive and no longer pregnant. So she decides to go after the people who did it to her, especially the leader of them all: yeah, you guessed it, Bill.
Basically, this is a movie made by a film geek, especially for film geeks. This is Tarantino’s homage to old Japanese kung-fu movies. Recognize the names Sonny Chiang or Gordon Liu? I didn’t either, but they were old kung-fu stars, and they’re in this movie too. The people who will really enjoy these movies are the geeks. As in, the people who will realize that The Bride’s yellow jumpsuit is the same one worn by Bruce Lee in one of his movies (thanks to Hollywood Jesus for that bit of info). That being said, I still found it enjoyable, even though there are probably a ton of references to other films that I didn’t get. From the opening credits to the music, it’s obvious Tarantino is just having fun making a tribute to his favorite genres of movies.
Volume 1 is all about style. The story is paper-thin. The audience doesn’t know a whole lot about The Bride or her past relationships with the other characters; all that’s for certain is that this lady knows how to use a sword and she’s pretty good with it too. Want to know more about Bill? You won’t even get to see him until Volume 2. In this end though, it doesn’t really matter. This is a kung-fu movie, and all it tries to be is a kung-fu movie.
One of the very first scenes presents The Bride’s confrontation with Vernita Green, the second person on her “Death List”. As soon as The Bride lands the first punch, you know that this movie isn’t trying to take itself seriously; it’s just about having fun. The action is very over-the-top and in some ways I found it to be more like a comic book than a movie due to the directing.
You might have noticed that I said Green was the second person on the list. Don’t worry, the first will be explained all in due time. Tarantino goes back and forth through time effortlessly, and at no point was I confused as to what was going on. The Bride takes vengeance on O-ren Ishii first, and this character is given nearly as much treatment as the The Bride herself. Her back story is told in Japanese anime, another homage by Tarantino. The audience learns more about why she became an assassin than with any other character – that includes Volume 2 as well.
Once the anime sequence starts (about half way through the movie) things start to get bloody. This was surprising, since I’d heard so much about how bloody this movie was supposed to be. The only live-action blood flows during the climactic battle at the Blue Leaves Tea House, when The Bride takes on dozens of opponents. There is a ton of blood, yes, but not nearly as much as I thought there was going to be, and none of it is very realistic. It’s all so exaggerated that I found myself laughing during some parts, and I don’t see why anyone could ever claim it’s bloody enough to deserve an NC-17 rating. It’s basically just Monty Python and the Holy Grail with a larger sprinkler system. Limbs fly off and are replaced with geysers of blood shooting high into the air.
Also: did I mention that almost none of this scene is even in color? Most of it is shot in black-and-white or just in silhouette. Tarantino has directed it in such as a way that even when things do get a little too disgusting, it’s never shown in all of its crimson glory. There are constant switches from color to black-and-white, but what’s truly amazing is that none of these transitions feel tacked on for no apparent reason. This is what it’s supposed to be like.
Content-wise, there is a lot of profanity, and most of the time I felt like it wasn’t needed. Having Lucy Liu swear three times in two seconds just isn’t realistic. Sometimes, I can see when having a character swear would be necessary due to the nature of their character, but I felt Tarantino went an little overboard this time. Also, there is a great deal of sexual content – no actual scenes, just dialogue, and sometimes I felt Tarantino was using this to make a point (more on this later). One conversation between a hospital employee and a trucker who’s about to rape The Bride’s comatose body is especially graphic, and really serves no purpose.
This movie isn’t meant to provide the audience with a deep message. It’s just about having fun watching The Bride track down and get revenge on those who tried to kill her – it makes for great stress relief. Tarantino has taken a simple idea and used tons of stylistic devices to make it seem bigger than it really is. Story-wise, there’s nearly nothing; technically, it’s a visual masterpiece (check out those colors!). Also, this is only the first half of the movie. The second part is extremely different.
The Bottom Line: It’s all style, and no substance, but the style is just so cool that I think it deserves a 7/10.
Should I see it? If you don’t mind the offensive content, are a film geek, or just want to see a movie with incredible style, then yes. Also, it’s worth seeing just so you can move on to Volume 2, which is the superior half.
STARRING
Uma Thurman
David Carradine
Michael Madsen
Daryl Hannah
Directed by Quentin Tarantino, rated R
Although Kill Bill was originally supposed to be one movie, Tarantino decided to split it up into two parts. Whereas the first was his homage to old kung-fu movies, the second is a tribute to Italian spaghetti westerns. And believe me, the difference shows. At times it’s hard to believe that both are parts of the same movie; the styles are so completely different, each one feels like a separate film. Treating them as separate movies: this one is better.
Whereas the first one was basically non-stop action with very little story holding it all together, this one is nearly the exact opposite. If you didn’t like the first one because of all the killing, let me reassure you that only a few people die in the second half, and The Bride is not responsible for all of them. This is where the meat of the story lies. Finally, Tarantino reveals some of the answers to our questions: What is the Bride’s real relationship with Bill? Why did the wedding chapel massacre occur? Where did she learn all those cool moves? How did California Mountain Snake (Daryl Hannah) lose her eye?
More story means more dialogue, and with Tarantino this is not a bad thing. His script is constructed so that at times the dialogue feels like it’s overdone, perhaps outright funny, but somehow it manages to stay reasonably serious. The dialogue is never too serious or too light, it’s just clever.
David Carradine was the perfect choice for Bill. Whereas in the first one we merely heard his voice, in this volume we actually get to see the guy act, and he’s very good. He plays Bill with such finesse that you can never decide whether you hate the guy or love him. Sure, he’s the villain, but there’s just something about the slow, lazy way he speaks that makes him seem like an almost likeable guy. And that’s part of what makes the movie so fun to watch. Part of me wanted him to die and another part of me didn’t; the result is that no matter what Tarantino did with the ending it would have seemed right, because there was just something about the character that made it hard to discern how I really wanted it to end.
Michael Madsen is also incredible as Budd, Bill’s brother. Even though he knows The Bride is tracking him down to kill him, he never panics. He remains completely calm. His only comment: “That woman deserves her revenge. And we deserve to die.” Naturally, though, he isn’t about to go down without a fight.
Once again, Tarantino moves back and forth through time, taking the audience back to when The Bride was being trained by the martial arts master, Pai Mei. These scenes are some of the most fun to watch, as they depict The Bride getting her butt kicked by an old guy (played by Gordon Liu – maybe you’ll recognize him from the first one). Pai Mei is was my favorite character; he’s the greatest martial arts master in the world, and he knows it. His ego is so big that supposedly “He’ll break your back if you don’t look him in the eye.”
Apart from flashbacks, Tarantino also uses other techniques to really give the film its atmosphere. There are close-ups galore, as well as music borrowed from Sergei Leone (the composer of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly theme) that really give it an old-fashioned movie feel. Also, the blood and gore of the first part is gone. There’s only one particularly graphic part in the entire movie involving an eyeball plucking. In fact, the only really big action scene is between The Bride and California Mountain Snake. The set-up is priceless: two female assassins duking it out in a trailer home…in the middle of the desert. The fact that Tarantino chose to stage it in a claustrophobic setting despite the wide, open surroundings makes it extremely enjoyable.
Most people probably wonder if there’s any redeeming value to the ending of the movie at all, considering the entire plot revolves around revenge. Well, it’s certainly not the most Christian-friendly ending ever (forget any ideas you might have about the point being to portray the bloody consequences of revenge, or to have The Bride repent of her actions), it could have been a lot worse. Honestly, I’m not sure whether I should approve of it or not, but oddly enough, I do. Whereas there was hardly enough information given in the first volume to make me care about The Bride, Tarantino somehow manages to make her appear sympathetic to the audience. I actually cared about this woman whose only goal in life was to seek “bloody satisfaction” on those who left her for dead. Maybe it’s how the movie deals with the cliffhanger that Volume 1 ended on. Maybe it’s that we actually learn her name in this installment (in the first, it was purposefully bleeped out). Whatever the reason, by the end of the movie I wasn’t disappointed. The film delivers a fun action romp and some excellent dialogue and characterization, and the ending doesn’t detract from that. In terms of simply “revenge flicks”, Kill Bill is one of the best.
The heavy sexual content of the first one is gone as well. The profanity is not, and there’s supposedly more in this volume than in the first. However, unlike with the previous installment, most of the time I didn’t feel like the profanity detracted from the movie. It was necessary. That’s how these characters would talk. Perhaps that’s why it seemed to me like there was actually less swearing than in the first one.
Overall, it’s much better than the first one, simply due to the beefed up story line and wittier dialogue. Whereas Volume 1 was all style with very little substance, this one packs plenty of substance in with the incredible directing techniques. It deserves at least an 8/10.
The Bottom Line: Better than the first one. It’s easy to see why many people list Tarantino as their favorite director.
Should I see it? If you’re a Tarantino fan, enjoy old Italian spaghetti westerns, or just want to see if The Bride really does get to Kill Bill, then yes.
I don’t know if Tarantino wrote Kill Bill with a specific message in mind, or if it was just so he could have fun with his favorite genres. However, even though I’ve only seen the movie once, one thing that stood out is how he portrays the different sexes. Although this movie is about revenge, I’d say that it’s also about overcoming the idea that women are inferior to men.
There is evidence to suggest that Kill Bill is Tarantino’s way of critiquing society’s portrayal of women. How many commercials do you see in which women are used as sex objects in order to convince people to buy the product? How many times have you heard stories about women being taken advantage of on the news? Now compare that to the number of stories about men being taken advantage of. Seems kind of unbalanced, doesn’t it?
There’s tons of examples in Kill Bill of how women are treated as inferior to men. However, in each case, the male ends up the loser – in other words, he dies. It appears to me as though Tarantino is trying to criticize the way women are often stereotyped and treated. It’s almost as if he’s saying, “Girls are not inferior. Guys, stop treating them that way. You’re just going to get your butt kicked. Hard.”
I’ll conclude this review with some examples. It’s up to you to decide whether you agree with me or not. (WARNING: SPOILERS)
1. In the movie’s first scene, Bill claims that he’s not sadistic, just “masochistic”. In other words, he’s feeling pleasure due to the fact that he’s being punished or hurt. But wait, I thought he was the one doing the hurting. Even from the first scene, it’s evident that The Bride is superior to Bill. She’s the only hurting and killing him. Not the other way around.
2. People rape The Bride while she’s in a coma. Two of these are physical characters in the movie: a trucker, and a hospital orderly named Buck. What happens? They die.
3. O-Ren Ishii’s parents are killed by someone whom we later find out is a pedophile. She uses this to gain access to him (she’s 11 years old), and kills him.
4. Gogo asks a guy, “Do you want to screw me? Do you want to penetrate me?” When he enthusiastically nods his head (Tarantino’s way of criticizing guys’ obsession with sex and nothing else?)…yeah, you guessed it. Add another one to the body count.
5. Budd makes a blonde joke to California Mountain Snake. A few seconds later, he’s dead.
6. In Mexico, Bill makes a sandwich using Bimbo bread, as if to imply blondes or women in general are stupid (and yes, that is a real brand of bread; we buy it all the time). You know what happens next.