Review of Death Proof (2007) by Cale B — 19 Feb 2014

"Death Proof," the second part of the Robert Rodriguez-Quentin Tarantino "Grindhouse" double feature, runs on two speeds: slow as molasses and fast as shit. It's about a guy named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) who enjoys killing people with his car. Yeah, Michael Myers has a knife, Leatherface has a chainsaw, Jason Voorhees has a machete, Freddy Krueger has his claw, and Stuntman Mike just uses his car, on women that he targets as he takes pictures of them from afar. But he gets off scot-free because his car is a stunt car and is "death-proof," as long as you're in the driver's seat.

So this is sort of the same deal as "Planet Terror." It's hard to review effectively because it's not a normal, mainstream film that you can dissect bit by bit. But I'll try; this movie is actually a pair of stories. The first half is kinda weak; it just features these three girls: Arlene (Vanessa Ferlito), Shanna (Jordan Ladd) and radio DJ "Jungle" Julia Lucai (Sydney Tamiia Poitier) as they go to a bar and have endless, forgettable conversations, while Mike eventually slides in and offers a girl named Pam (Rose McGowan) a ride home. I know long conversations are a staple of Tarantino films, but I often get tired of them after a while if I don't feel like anything important is happening.

So it isn't long before Mike kills all four of these girls; however, he's let go after his injuries since he was sober while all four girls were drunk at the time. Earl McGraw (Parks) is convinced that Mike is guilty but can't prove it, and chooses to simply warn the guy that if he does this again, to better "make damn sure" it's not in Texas.

Fast-forward to over a year later in Tennessee. Now we have three more women, Abernathy Ross (Rosario Dawson), Kim Mathis (Tracie Thomas) and Lee Montgomery (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who are being followed by Mike. These characters aren't nearly as annoying; I enjoy some of their talks about working in movies and although they're mischievous, I can tell they have a certain lust for life, and aren't just doing a bunch of random stuff for no reason. Kim even says at one point that they don't have good common sense. Anyway, they pick up stuntwoman Zoe Bell and test-drive a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T; eventually, Zoe, Abernathy and Kim decide to play "Ship's Mast," where Zoe rides on the hood of the car while holding onto leather belts while Kim drives.

And this is pretty much the point where the movie goes from just being kinda fun, kinda decent to one hell of a ride, because the last 15 minutes is a fantastically entertaining car chase between the girls and Mike. I like how the tables turn halfway through. He chases them for a while, but Kim shoots at him and he flees, and then they chase him. It becomes an ongoing barrage of speed, verbal taunts, crashing metal; it's awesome. It's clear Tarantino and the cast and crew set out to make the best car chase in the history of cinema. I haven't seen every car chase, but this is undoubtedly top-notch. It definitely makes up for the slow pace that makes up much of the rest of the movie. I like "Death Proof" overall; but in my opinion, it only becomes really awesome at the end.