Review of Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) by Halfwelshman — 10 Jun 2012

With Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino continues to do what he does best - elevating supposedly "trashy" film genres to credible cinematic fare. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is packed full of energy and style, with Tarantino's trademark extreme violence and eloquent, machine-gun dialogue.

It also has a plethora of film references for cinephiles, mostly from Spaghetti Westerns, Hong Kong martial arts and Samurai films. Tarantino is not afraid to affectionately poke a little fun at the films he is paying homage to, but he never takes it to the extent of parody.

Before this film, I'd have never in a million years pictured Uma Thurman as an action heroine, but thankfully Tarantino saw her potential in this role - she is great as the vengeful Bride. It is Lucy Liu and particularly Daryl Hannah who really steal the show performance-wise however, with Liu playing O-Ren Ishii, an honourable assassin-turned-mob leader, and Hannah playing Elle Driver, a considerably less honourable, and far more malicious former assassin.

The action is superb, the fight scenes creative, well-choreographed and bloody, notably The Bride's brutal fight with Ishii's schoolgirl bodyguard Gogo (a particularly menacing Chiaki Kuriyama) and the following rather serene and beautiful duel with Ishii herself.

Unfortunately, the sequence that links these two truly exceptional one-on-ones, involving The Bride hacking her way through wave after wave of henchmen, is more than a little overblown and excessive - the first dismembered limb and fountain of blood is shocking, but a long succession of the same gets a bit dull.

My favourite scene of the whole film was an unexpected Japanese Anime segment that explores O-Ren Ishii's origins, and is an emotionally charged refreshing change of pace from the rest of the film. The first volume of Kill Bill is not only a fine example of a revenge movie that effectively adopts the stylistic conventions of numerous other genres, but it's a brilliant example of exciting film storytelling on its own terms to boot.

The extent of Quentin Tarantino's film knowledge is still staggering, and he remains a true auteur gifted in all aspects of filmmaking, from cinematography and editing to screenwriting and selecting tracks for the film's eclectic and brilliant soundtrack.

Other than a slightly monotonous grisly extended fight scene, I have incredibly little about Kill Bill Volume 1 to criticise - it's a brilliant, blood-splattered love-letter to the less artistically admired, but no less cinematically important filmmakers, and perfectly sets you up for the stunning conclusion to The Bride's quest for revenge in Vol.

2.