Review of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) by Dillinger P — 05 Jan 2016

Tarantino's 2 part homage to Asian and Western cinema, has indeed came under a considerable amount of flack from critics and fans alike, however in retrospect this vibrant and at times excellent homage to his influences has so much on offer, its very hard to hold Kill Bill in such a high disregard.

When a former assassin decides to flee her occupation, cutting all ties from her past and trying to settle down and start a family with a normal man, she soon finds herself left for dead and on a war path that will leave anyone who has shares in cleaning products, extremely delighted.

Kill Bill Vol 1 is a one hundred mile per hour, violent and homage filled affair, with in jokes aplenty. Taratino is in full fan boy mode, trying to pack in as many bit parts for legends of Asian cinema, taking influence from Game Of Death and crafting an ambitious finale that will most likely be remember for some time to come.

Underneath all this however is a very thin and somewhat mucky concept, yes the character of The Bride is indeed a captivating hero, with Uma Thurman crafting the best heroine in forever, with a brilliant motivation and quirky execution, its hard to fault what her and QT deliver here.

The same could be said with some of the supporting characters and indeed stories, Bill is a wonderful antagonist, complex and indeed frightening, his ability to be a father figure and lovable makes his actions even more forceful, equally Lucy Lu as the vicious Tokyo warlord also packs not only a strong punch but a wealth of laughs and memorable quotes.

The rest of the cast do an admirable job, the problem clearly stems from the over all goal here. Kill Bill has taken a tale that really should be at most, around the 2 hour mark and stretched it so thinly across 2 films and 4 hours.

It becomes evident that by the time Kill Bill Vol 1, finally finds its footing it is over, leaving us stacking up an entire plethora of moments that could indeed be cut to make this 1 solid outing. Stepping away from expectations, whats on offer here is brilliant by many makers, the film is gorgeous, full of brilliant colour, excellent framing, well choreographed fight sequences, vibrant buckets of blood, an anime-esque feel to everything and a wealth of comedy and heart that is impossible to ignore.

Every act of violence in Kill Bill, is in some cases justified and indeed packing a punch, especially when the film comes close to wrapping up with the insane finale, that will leave gore hounds in a state of euphoria.

There is a huge amount on offer here, and if taken on face value, Kill Bill Vol 1 offers enough to get fans wanting more, the problems begin to show however upon closer inspection, and repeated viewing will indeed push the cracks as far as they can stand.

An excellent piece of pulp, bright, funny and quirky but lacking the execution we need for a classic. What it does right however will leave most film makers ashamed of their abilities.