Beat to a bloody pulp and shot in the head and left for dead at her wedding day, The Bride (Uma Thurman, whose name is never revealed) is carted away in a four-year-long coma. She wakes up and vows revenge. And, oh, does Thurman play revenge well. It seems that the supporting cast (Lucy Lui, Vivica A. Fox, among others) truly beat Thurman to the edge of death. Her eyes convey her emotion--the limited and brief dialogue isn't even necessary. She is surpremely convincing in every aspect of her performance, even throughout the amazingly stylish fight sequences (which put "The Matrix" to shame). She fights like a pro with samurai swords, lethal daggers, butcher knives, and frying pans.

One of the main draws to this redefining adventure is the hilarious subject matter. Tarantino goes overboard. Blood flies about like fruit punch, gushing out of wounds like a torrential downpour (sometimes, in fact, you will even wonder if the human body has that much blood), and in any other movie, that gore would force you to leave--but here, it doesn't. Why? Because Tarantino never takes himself too seriously. Fight scenes are punctuated with effective and sometimes laughable dialogue. But beneath the hokey action scenes and the cute quips, there is a real movie at work here. Tarantino dances about the timeline, bouncing the story back and forth to a dizzying point, which forces your full attention on the gradually unfolding general story. The cliffhanger ending merely seals the deal.

"Kill Bill" deserves all of the accolades it gets. Although it may seem to be a hackfest on the surface, there is true talent at work here. Uma Thurman and Lucy Lui give inspiring performances; the story, however linear it may be, it instantly grabbing; and Tarantino's masterful direction is as inspiringly as it is slightly distubring. A true masterpiece. One of the films to beat for 2003.


Pure Tarantino   February 1, 2004
 175 out of 221 found this review helpful

Kill Bill vol. 1, the 4th feature from Quentin Tarantino, delivers in most every way that we would expect from Tarantino. It is sylish as hell; the cinematography especially struck me as being more impressive than in his previous films. The final scene particularly illustrates this, with the frenetic action being conveyed through silhoutte lighting, b&w vs. color and creative shifts between them, impressive camera shots such as the rising shot right before the battle royale, and the pure cinematic epicity of the setting of the final battle between Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu. Tarantino's brilliantly dark humor is littered throughout the film as well; Buck describing how to have sex with Uma Thurman's supposedly comatose form may be offensive and appaling to some, but as it is delivered (and to all Tarantino fans), it is utterly hilarious (little details such as bucks "P---- Wagon, the "Kaboom!" cereal box, and the water fountain that serves as the only noise through much of the climatic battle also stand out). I was also very impressed with(though initially apprehensive of) the anime segment that served as a segue into the Japanese setting, it added a surprising amount of emotion, and set the feel perfectly for the rest of the film. Nearly everything is done right, beyond right. The soundtrack is amazing, as is to be expected for a Tarantino film. He has impeccable taste in music, and seems to innately know what will enhance the film; in some places it is even cheesy (the 1,2,3,4s in the Japanese club) but we know that this is all intended, as is the "Feature Presentation" card at the beginning; Tarantino is someone who is obviosuly in love with film, and this film is almost an expression of love for all the "cool" films he watched growing up. I have heard Uma Thurman quoted as saying that this film is "pure, epic, Tarantino fantasy" and this is a perfect description of it. There is little to no depth, it is not a film that will stun you with its character development, or method acting, but it doesnt pretend to, or even want to. It simply revels in being the epitomy of "cool", it is an action film that is done in almost all ways, perfectly. Tarantino's gift is found in knowing what will look utterly amazing on film (again, I found myself stunned simply by the appearance of the final, snow-covered courtyard), in being able to write with a great amount of wit and intelligence, and being able to put the two together with a large amount of what must be called genius. Kill Bill isn't Tarantino's best film (an honor reserved for the utterly brilliant Pulp Fiction, [or is it Reservoir Dogs, it seems to depend on which film ive watched most recently] ), nor will it win the Best Picture Academy Award (which it doesnt deserve anyway), but it is a damn good time. Uma Thurman makes a triumphant return to film, and shocks most everyone in being able to pull off her role as the Bride perfectly; after seeing the film I cannot imagine anyone who could be more convincing. The question remains, can a film be given 5 stars based on style alone? The answer, surprisingly, is yes. I give out 5 stars very, very infequently, to only the very best of films, and while this is by no means the BEST action film ever made, it is certainly a damn good one. repeat viewing may lessen the spectale somewhat, but this reviewer was very impressed (and still is, after 3 viewings) with what he just saw. Very Highly Recommended.


Good to be Bad!   October 15, 2003
 171 out of 235 found this review helpful

Kill Bill continues the great tradition of great movies directed by the legendary Quentin Tarantino. And like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill is overdone, glamourous, and is a terrific, violent, convoluted film! Kill Bill seems like it is a bit too simple of a plot for Tarantino. A female assassin is betrayed, nearly killed, and four years later, she is out to seek revenge against her former compatriots, and the people who put her through hell. The big thing that I couldn't figure out was whether it was supposed to be a witty, sarcastic film with lots and lots of blood, or if it was supposed to be a dark, gritty film with lotts and lots of blood. I decided that it was a little bit of both. After all, Tarantino did direct it, and in his world, nothing is what it seems. As I said earlier, the film is quite convoluted and full of surprises, at least for an action film. Kill Bill is a daring film, and it draws in elements from many different films. For example, if you pay close attention, any fan will realize that the beginning of the film is similar to 60's karate films. Above everything else, Kill Bill is sheer fun and a great movie to see. It is very artistic as well. For example, the movie incorporates black and white, anime, and regular color presentation in one sequence. And it is hard to believe that a movie with this much blood can be artistic, but believe me, it is! It is the best movie to come out this year, and kicks off a great fall season of films after a lackluster summer. Kill Bill is colorful, and almost groovy in some ways. Think Austin Powers with suffering and gore, and you'll get the picture. Uma Thurman does a gritty but excellent job in this film, and Lucy Liu manages to shake off some of her Charlie's Angels reputation that classified her as a poor actress. Kill Bill is a stylized, colorful, gritty, elemental movie, and anyone with a strong stomach should definitely see it.


Japanese vs. American Version   March 19, 2004
 45 out of 64 found this review helpful

I thought Kill Bill was a great film for many reasons, and a bit of a dissapointment for a few others. Ultimately, I thoroughtly enjoyed it, though honestly I can't be bothered to write an actualy review, least of all beacuse I know nobody's gonna read it.
I'm an American student on exchange in Tokyo, so I saw this film as it was presented to the Japanese market. At the time, I didn't know it was any different from the American version, other than there being not subtitles during the spoken Japanese. After seeing the film, however, I started seeing things on the internet about the American version being black in white in parts to tone down the violence, so I went out and found that version of the film.
Not to dissapoint anyone who was looking for torrents more blood, but there really isn't much of a difference. The only part of the Japanese film that is more violent is the colorized fight scene at the end, but it's only, what, three minutes of the whole scene that's been changed, from when Uma rips that guys eye out until they end up in the blue room for the showdown with the final group of Yakuza.
I feel both versions of the film have their merrits. The black and white enhances the visual eclecticism of the film, which goes along with the countlessly shifting colors and anime sequence, while the full color version is much funnier, and the colorized blood is so violently red and copiously abundant that it can't help but make you laugh.
The only other difference is that Uma cuts off Sophie Fatal's other arm when she's got her in the trunk of her car. That many have actually been in the American version, but I don't think I saw it. Anyway, so there it is.


Big, pulpy fun.   September 26, 2003
 43 out of 56 found this review helpful

It's quite apparent from Kill Bill Volume One that Quentin Tarantino has not lost any of his love for pulp fiction. From the opening black and white sequence of Uma Thurman to the final almost touching final fight scene with Lucy Liu, Kill Bill has the makings of an epic cult film. I say cult film because I'm sure the movie will polarize audiences. Tarantino takes some big risks with his film genre bending and mixing. Most of them pay off.

The action sequences that were talked about are actually not as sustained as rumoured. In fact, it really shows a sign of maturity in Tarantino that the action takes breaks so the audience can take a breath before the characters start in on each other again. It makes the characters more human, too, since even those in the best shape could not withstand these constant pounding without taking a short breather.

The story? It's a revenge plot, plain and simple, and as pulpy as those get. Plus the actors are all quite up to that task. They all go about chewing up the scenery, which fits quite nicely into the film as it's set up. It's good to see Thurman again. Here she takes the lead as The Bride with much vigor and attitude because The Bride is pissed. Her old assassin team has killed her entire wedding party and even tried to kill her, but didn't quite finish the job. Now she wants to get even.

And it's great fun. With over the top fight scenes with heads and limbs flying to bodies squirting blood like hoses, Tarantino is wearing his cheesy gore film influences on his sleeve. There are several film genres here and the best is the back story on Lucy Liu's character when the film switches to Japanese anime to set up the audience for the second half of the film which takes place in Japan. The dialogue is more classy in this half of the film only between Thurman and Liu. Instead of using the F-word (as Tarantino is want to do in his films), they shoot more witty barbs at each other as if there was once great respect between them. This sets up a scene at the end of their fight that is actually touching and makes The Bride human instead of just a killing machine.

Of course, the film ends with a cliff hanger because Miramax didn't want to release a 3 hour plus film; however, with some creative editing it ends nicely and sets up for Kill Bill Volume Two. It gives hints about The Bride's husband, the baby she was carrying, how she was found after going into hiding and her relationship with Bill to name a few things. All of which are very soap opera, but a soap that is very stylized and willing to take chances. None of this would have worked had it not been for Tarantino being self-aware he was just making a big piece of entertaining fluff. In other hands, it would have just been another over-wrought pile of junk. And even if Miramax cut it in two, it's nice to know that they have allowed out a film that tries to push the envelope.