Mar 21, 2012

Kill Bill, Volume 1

Revenge is a dish best served cold.
I left Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction as the final Tarantino movies to review in purpose, cause I just love these films too much and I don't want to spoil the review in the sense of some "sucky dicky guy" praising these movies as the ultimate of the ultimate greatest of the greatest movies of all times. Kill Bill is my wife's favorite Tarantino film and I don't blame her, cause here women do get the place they deserve as strong heroic/evil characters. Now, do I think this movie is absolutely brilliant? Absolutely. Do I think this is the all time greatest movie ever made by Quentin Tarantino? maybe, just maybe. If you checked IMDB, cinema websites and awesome cult movies blogs (yeah such as my humble blog) you definitely found the neverending battle between people who either hate this movie or people that think it's the greatest film ever made. Even more interesting (or stupid if that's your point of view) is the apparently pointless battle between fans of Volumes 1 and 2. If I was asked I would say that discussion is as stupid as thinking you can make a war for the cause of peace. Why? because Kill Bill is just one movie! Quentin Tarantino always said it was one movie, and due to its running time it had to be splitted into two chapters, AKA volumes, you know no movie theaters in the world would have showcased almost four hours of a single movie, that's worth two tickets dudes!  So, the Volume 1 and Volume 2 is simply a matter of the industry of film making rather than an act of art.

If you were to find a tribute film, probably this one would be the number one tribute movie ever made. Quentin Tarantino pays homage to his favorite genres, movies, characters, music and almost to everything he considers worth spending time on. Some fans reacted to Kill Bill in a very bad mood, stating this movie is a rip off of many other obscure cult films and that it just doesn't deserve a single positive opinion. Not my opinion. To state someone is fraud cause he's paying homage to other films isn't fair. New culture is built around past culture, as well as cool music and great gadgets, so we do need to look at the past from time to time to build even greater cultural manifestations, so please don't be squared! think before you act.

I'm gonna cut you in two you piece of shit.
The deadly assasination viper squad.
Now, let's get down to business, Kill Bill involves a nameless woman (gorgeous Uma Thurman) who is slowing seeking revenge on her former hit squad the Viper Squad and her boss Bill (David Caradine, master of martial arts, living legend) Her former hit squad wronged her by gunning down her closest friends and family during her wedding and putting her into a coma while being pregnant. A few years later she awakens in a hospital, without her apparently unborn child, and tries to track down each member of the squad. As the story progresses (through this film and the sequel), you find out who she really, why Bill wanted her dead and the fate of her daughter.

The movie is really a combination of Tarantino's love for the 70's over-dramatized Kung-Fu movie era and story of revenge with rich dialog. Yes, this movie is violent, but in a cheesy way. This created some controversy and really had audiences stirred up, failing to realize it was supposed to be over the top without no sense of realism. Like I said, it was supposed to be a tribute more so than a gruesome action flick. With all cheesiness aside, I can understand how some people could feel a little woozy after seeing someone lose an arm and having 4 gallons of Kool-Aid red blood shoot out of the body like a whale's blow hole. What really makes this movie is Tarantino ability to make bad to mediocre actors seem like good ones, a smart and hilarious dialog and a good storyline. Of course, this is what he does in pretty much in all of his movies.

Japanese School Teen.
Yes, there is an anime portion in the movie.
O Ren Ishii.

There are various plot holes in the story, but we are really meant to ignore them unlike most movies. Just like the gory scenes, come to grips to the fact that the most of the implausibilities are there just to fill in the gaps of the movie. The movie also features a couple of classic Tarantino showdowns, including an unforgettable one with the Japanese infamous crime lord, O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Lui.) Once again, Tarantino puts his imagination at work again in his story telling by using some of his old techniques like jumping timelines and some new ones like adding Japanese animation for character backgrounds.

I wouldn't really recommend this film to someone who is really not from the Pulp Fiction era or a connoisseur of the world of the 70's exploitation films. This film is really just homage to flicks that frequently appear on Sunday Samurai Showcase, revenge and Tarantino's continuous fascination with Uma Thurman. This film contains extreme violence and sometimes strange dialog coupled with some pretty good acting and directing. If you're not a fan of Tarantino's films, you should pass on this one because it doesn't stray too far from his other stuff. If you like his other works, this is a must see due to its originality and quality. And, if you just don't like Tarantino himself, and find him annoying like everybody else, I don't blame you but, fuck you!

The Final Battle.
Bill, the mean guy.
Here's the movie trailer, and wait for the upcoming volume 2 review:

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