Review: You've Never Seen Anything Like 'Kill Bill'
Six Year Wait Since 'Jackie Brown' Worth it
POSTED: 4:39 pm CDT October 5, 2003
'Kill Bill' (R) 
(out of four popcorns)"Kill Bill" grabs you from your seat, forces you to look and then never lets go.
Are you in the mood for something different? Did you go crazy when "Pulp Fiction" hit the screens with a wallop? Are you nuts over Japanese anime and Yakuza violence? What about a good old-fashioned spaghetti western? Everything, including the kitchen sink, gets thrown into "Kill Bill" and somehow it works -- thanks to Tarantino's enthusiasm and delirious vision."Kill Bill: Volume 1" is the first of two parts -- the second part will be released in early February. It is totally original, yet references many of the offbeat films around the world."Kill Bill" actually got started near the end of filming "Pulp Fiction" when Tarantino and Uma Thurman (Q & U as listed in the credits) started throwing around ideas for a movie written specifically for the lanky actress. Apparently, Thurman has become a muse for Tarantino, so he promised he would put their ideas together and write a script. As the years went by, Tarantino kept coming up with more and more ideas and nine years later the script was so long, studio executives agreed to let him divide it into two movies. Production even waited until after Thurman gave birth.
Enough background. Is it worth it, you ask? If you want a shot of adrenaline like Thurman got in the chest in "Pulp Fiction" (without the needle of course), then you have to see "Kill Bill." It is impossible to categorize and the type of movie other directors want to copy, but none could ever come close to recreating.However, if you are at all squeamish about blood and think movies are already too violent, stay home. The body count is probably the highest of any film in recent memory and the many different ways Tarantino finds to splay and splatter gushes of blood from headless bodies is almost inspiring.
I usually am not blood-and-guts movie type of person. Many slasher films are at the bottom of my list. But the pure imagination and giddy joy and originality that fuels "Kill Bill" sets it apart from the rest. Mixed in with the manic mayhem are scenes of quiet reverence for the Samurai warrior's blade. One character's back story (Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishi, codename Cottonmouth) is told in anime. But it isn't anything like "Spirited Away" -- this is for adults only.
Thurman plays a character known as The Bride. The movie, like "Pulp Fiction," flips back and forth between present and past, but in a much clearer, straight-forward way. The Bride was once a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS) and was leader Bill's (David Carradine) lover. When she gets pregnant and tries to get out, the squad descends on the tiny country church in which she is getting married and leaves no witnesses -- or so they think. Years later, The Bride wakes from her coma and cuts a swath of violence in her escape. Her goal -- revenge on the DiVAS.One of the biggest talents Tarantino has going for him is detail. You could probably watch this movie several time and still not get all the irony and in-jokes -- like using a box of kiddie cereal called Ka Boom to cover a gun, mobile phones the size of a purse and much more."Kill Bill" is an eye-popping, over-the-top spectacle that is worth every minute. I, for one, can't wait until I see how they "Kill Bill."
(out of four popcorns)"Kill Bill" grabs you from your seat, forces you to look and then never lets go.Are you in the mood for something different? Did you go crazy when "Pulp Fiction" hit the screens with a wallop? Are you nuts over Japanese anime and Yakuza violence? What about a good old-fashioned spaghetti western? Everything, including the kitchen sink, gets thrown into "Kill Bill" and somehow it works -- thanks to Tarantino's enthusiasm and delirious vision."Kill Bill: Volume 1" is the first of two parts -- the second part will be released in early February. It is totally original, yet references many of the offbeat films around the world."Kill Bill" actually got started near the end of filming "Pulp Fiction" when Tarantino and Uma Thurman (Q & U as listed in the credits) started throwing around ideas for a movie written specifically for the lanky actress. Apparently, Thurman has become a muse for Tarantino, so he promised he would put their ideas together and write a script. As the years went by, Tarantino kept coming up with more and more ideas and nine years later the script was so long, studio executives agreed to let him divide it into two movies. Production even waited until after Thurman gave birth.Enough background. Is it worth it, you ask? If you want a shot of adrenaline like Thurman got in the chest in "Pulp Fiction" (without the needle of course), then you have to see "Kill Bill." It is impossible to categorize and the type of movie other directors want to copy, but none could ever come close to recreating.However, if you are at all squeamish about blood and think movies are already too violent, stay home. The body count is probably the highest of any film in recent memory and the many different ways Tarantino finds to splay and splatter gushes of blood from headless bodies is almost inspiring. I usually am not blood-and-guts movie type of person. Many slasher films are at the bottom of my list. But the pure imagination and giddy joy and originality that fuels "Kill Bill" sets it apart from the rest. Mixed in with the manic mayhem are scenes of quiet reverence for the Samurai warrior's blade. One character's back story (Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishi, codename Cottonmouth) is told in anime. But it isn't anything like "Spirited Away" -- this is for adults only. Thurman plays a character known as The Bride. The movie, like "Pulp Fiction," flips back and forth between present and past, but in a much clearer, straight-forward way. The Bride was once a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS) and was leader Bill's (David Carradine) lover. When she gets pregnant and tries to get out, the squad descends on the tiny country church in which she is getting married and leaves no witnesses -- or so they think. Years later, The Bride wakes from her coma and cuts a swath of violence in her escape. Her goal -- revenge on the DiVAS.One of the biggest talents Tarantino has going for him is detail. You could probably watch this movie several time and still not get all the irony and in-jokes -- like using a box of kiddie cereal called Ka Boom to cover a gun, mobile phones the size of a purse and much more."Kill Bill" is an eye-popping, over-the-top spectacle that is worth every minute. I, for one, can't wait until I see how they "Kill Bill." Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
