Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

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Kill Bill Vol. 1: this is quentin tarantino's 4th film. A classic revenge story mixed in with tarantino's love for the classic hong kong films of the 70s. If you want action, this is your film. This entire film has some of the best fight sequences that I have seen in many films from the begining to the end. You get everything from functional fights(the vernita green fight) to massive samurai sword battles with many opponents and with just one opponent. The thing is, that seems to be the main focus of this part of the Kill Bill story.

We don't get much background on the barrage of characters that we come across. We are given the reason for the Bride's wanton destruction, but given as little back story as possible. We have David Carradine(as bill) in this omni-present like situtation kind of like the claw in the Inspector Gadjet series. We come across all of these characters, but yet, Tarantino decides to only give us real background on O-Ren Ishii and Gogo Yubari, and only with O-ren do we really connect with the character. We aren't given a reason for why Bill went after the Bride and why Elle Driver seems to have a massive disdain for the Bride. We also know as little as is neccessary for why the Bride goes on her rampage of revenge, and in some ways this bothers me, and I hope that it gets answered in Vol. 2.

I would like to talk about a message that gets sent in this film though. We are shown true Female empowerment. All of the women in this film are very pretty, but at the same time are some of the most dangerous people that walk the earth. This espeically goes for O-ren. We get her backstory through a great anime sequence that I think was done by the people that did Akira. She is a very interesting figure to say the least. Her life, since she was a child, is one of hell-bent revenge. Revenge and death become such a motive in her that she becomes a top assasin and ends up becoming the head of the Yakuza in Tokyo. What really intrigues me is that she is very delicate and pretty, but yet, she is one that is not to be triffled with at all. In some ways she is a conundrum and would be worthy of a film that is just about this character alone, she is that intriguging. It is very easy to misjudge her and in that misjudgement is your fatal flaw.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable film. It keeps you going from the begining and is non-stop, but there are soo many holes to fill that there is just something lacking in the end. You go into this knowing that it is a two part series, but at the same time, I'm not used to Quentin Tarantino leaving this much up in the air and leaving out some very key plot points, which brings down the film for me in some ways. I'd like to know more about Elle Driver and Hanso Hattori as they come across as characters that I would like to see delved into much more.

Overall: 3.5
watchability: this is one to watch with friends and on your own, but it isn't really one that you can watch with a significant other. The action and story engorsses you, but it really leaves you wanting to see Vol. 2, but it does leave you asking some very open-ended questions

RATINGS (out of 5):
0 - This is a complete waste of time, and you will regret wasting it
1 - don't bother unless no other options at all
2 - okay for a single watch, if you've got time
3 - Definite watch if you get a chance
4 - See it very soon, at least once before you die
5 - See it immediately, no excuses


OOT films for your reference

(btw this isn't the first time that I have seen this, I saw it when it came out and was able to get the dvd before the offical release, but have tried to be objective since I have seen both films umpteen million times)

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

oh yeah, I plan on having Kill Bill Vol. 2 up in the next couple of days to go along with this

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

my number 2 movie of all time

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

Yeah, you make a good point about characterisation in this film - who's this, who's that, wha? - is what you feel whilst watching, but it doesn't get in the way of the enjoyment, I felt. I liked the anime section a lot too, and it was a slam-bang ending.

I liked vol.1 way more than vol.2

I'd agree with the 3.5 for this, and personally 3/5 for vol.2

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

to be honest, ever since I saw Vol.2, I thought it was the more complete film as there was more character depth, and we were given a full reason to care for Uma Thurman's character as opposed to Vol. 1. I am really refraining from saying too much about the second Vol as I am obviously planning on reviewing it in the next 72 hours

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

i feel pretty much the exact same way about the movie. while a lot of it was well written and put together and is entertaining, it can't compre to his other movies. i feel the same way about the plot, that part of the movie is pretty uninspiring.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

This movie is bad. I had zero desire to see Vol. 2.

As was sort of mentioned above, the fight scenes seemed to be the point of the movie.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

for me, this film was the biggest let-down of the last 5 years.

it felt to me like QT put together a mix CD from his iPod and tried to pass it off as his new album. bascially just a bunch of scenes stolen from other films and strung together by a "plot"

i have zero desire to see Vol 2.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

Vol. 2 IMO is the much superior film and is more along the lines of QT's stuff. Neeless to say, I have a very high opinion of Vol. 2, and I do think that Uma THurman should've at least been considered for best actress for it

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
Vol. 2 IMO is the much superior film and is more along the lines of QT's stuff. Neeless to say, I have a very high opinion of Vol. 2, and I do think that Uma THurman should've at least been considered for best actress for it

[/ QUOTE ]

everyone says they're so different, etc, but i have a strict policy on sequels/vol 2's: if i don't see anything in the first part that makes me think i'll like the next chapter, i don't bother with the rest. there's a lot of films I'd rather see than waste a bunch of time waiting for someone to get to the good stuff. if i miss out on something good, oh well.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

Your title needs to be changed at a minimum.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

I think volume 2 makes volume 1 alot better. I was disapointed by 1, until I saw 2. Then I was happy with both.

I prefer to think of them as just one movie.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

I thought when seeing this that the film was fun, but ultimately quite disappointing. The characterization was especially flat,and I didn't find O-ren and even remotely believable character, even within the world of the film.

I also enjoy some of Tarantino's visual style, but it was obvious he was way out of his league when it comes to filming fights. Granted that there were limitations in Uma's athletic abilities, as she is not a lifelong kung fu master, but still Tarantino fell distressingly into the overly flashy MTV type quick cutting of fight scenes that has become the American norm, because we just can't seem to handle action sequences properly, and are of the mistaken idea that what really makes a fight look good is an editor. We have to go back to Gene Kelly's and especially Fred Astaire's dance movies to see how action really should be shot, with wide angles and extended shots, letting you see the performer's whole body move through space. You can cheat and trim that down quite a bit to hide an actor's lack of athletic abilities, but there becomes a point of diminishing returns that is actually usually the first thing modern American directors leap for -- a point where you can't really tell if it is the actor herself making a movement, and start not to care. The magic of the performance is broken, and it no longer seems a breathtaking revelation and easy to follow; the magic of the editing bay is substituted, things become muddled and you wonder whose arm is whose, and you realize that you might as well be watching CGI or a stunt double, and probably are. The life gets drained out, but maybe you still applaud the director for good enough fakery that at least you can appreciate the flying colors without being able to pin down the exact moments of fakery.

Tarantino's talents are in some ways exceptional, but they run toward dialogue and story, and here was a film that didn't have much of interest regarding either.

I'd agree with your 3.5 rating, and recommend seeing it while being prepared for disappointment and a little forgiving of it. Much like I feel when I go to a horror movie, knowing the thing probably won't hold water, but that with any luck I'll enjoy some really fun moments.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
I didn't find O-ren and even remotely believable character, even within the world of the film.


[/ QUOTE ]


I agree to an extent, but, at least we are given something with her. We are given nothing with vernita green and just a very small sketch of what Gogo Yubari is really about, but there is something to her. Granted a female, let alone a chinese/american/japanese one, is in the most unlikely realm to lead the Yakuza, we are given whatever odd reasons there are for her ascendency. She is shown to be one of the baddest members of the group, and that makes her interesting.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

I definitely found her more interesting than believable.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

I dont want to read all of this thread, but i will say that i thought the fight scenes were really boring. if he wants to make a fight movie, then get people who are professionals that know what they are doing.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

i find that MTV style pretty boring myself, since we've seen it all before and how interesting can a stunt double really be? in general i find things that are over-edited to be tiresome.

you're absolutely right about the Fred Astaire comment and you can see a sort of modern application of that in Crouching Tiger, if i remember it correctly. it's so much more exhilarating to see it in the wide shot.

i saw a documentary on PBS (?) about stunt doubles and the girl who doubled for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill was in it. I found the documentary to be much more interesting than Kill Bill. of course, it was a pretty cool doc.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is a good comparison, because the male lead of that movie, like Uma in Kill Bill, was also not a martial artist. Yet he was filmed so that he came across believably as one. For a kung fu flick fan, there are a lot of tricks Tarantino didn't pick up.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

I sorta enjoyed this movie but I think casting Uma or basically anyone who has not had extensive martial arts training was ludicriously unbelievable and made it suck. QT was trying to emulate the old kung fu movies, well the cool stuff about those movies was that the actors could actually kick ass in real life, not be some sad washed up hollywood chick.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

You're reviewing 1 half of a movie, you know.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
You're reviewing 1 half of a movie, you know.

[/ QUOTE ]

Skeme is correct. The movies are really one. It was just cut-up because the studios balked at the length of "Kill Bill." It should be evaluated as one whole movie, which makes it a 4 in my book on the scale previously given.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

It would be better seen as one very long movie, but I still wouldn't give it a 4 on that basis.

It would have to be re-cut, so we didn't have one half so lifeless and void of character and so completely outshone by the second half.

I'm thinking that the way Tarantino envisioned the film, if he did indeed originally envision it as a single very long film, was not with the editing it has now. It's far too unbalanced. I think he popped the first one full of action sequences to help make the other one still sellable, and because if you put half the plot and background in one movie and half in another, you'd have two incomplete films that both felt very confusing. Coming to the second one a while after having watched the first, especially, would have been an uncomfortable experience -- starting in the middle with half the plot hazy or forgotten. And for anyone seeing the second who hadn't seen the first, the second would be totally incomprehensible.

Thus, the unfortunate structure we have at present. I wouldn't be surprised if Tarantino re-edits them significantly when he releases them as a combined set. It's just the kind of flashy, controversial thing he'd like to do, too. If it happens, I bet the new film is much better.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
For a kung fu flick fan, there are a lot of tricks Tarantino didn't pick up.

[/ QUOTE ]

well, he'd been stealing from Godard and Traffaut for a long time and didn't pick up too many of those tricks either.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

He steals from everything. I still love him, though. Kill Bill is one of my favorite movies.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

Well, KB1+2 are pretty shallow, fun popcorn flicks IMO.

To me, much of the dialogue sounds like someone trying to do QT, not him doing it. 'Wakey, Wakey, Eggs and Baccy', FFS! And that stupid speech about superman....ugg.

They are nowhere near as good as Pulp Fiction (still his best work IMO) or Res Dogs, or even the ponderous Jackie Brown.

I would dismiss him as a creative talent just yet though. He is the man behind 'Pulp Fiction', 'True Romance' and 'From Dusk Till Dawn', after all.

I just think he needs to try some different genres.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

I hated that wakey wakey line too, but I liked the superman speech.

Of course, it's not a topper to the speeches in Pulp Fiction and True Romance, but I do think it's a small miracle Tarantino managed to make even David Carradine look good.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You're reviewing 1 half of a movie, you know.

[/ QUOTE ]

Skeme is correct. The movies are really one. It was just cut-up because the studios balked at the length of "Kill Bill." It should be evaluated as one whole movie, which makes it a 4 in my book on the scale previously given.

[/ QUOTE ]

i thought i read somewhere in a QT interview that it was a "mutual decision" or that it was originally his idea.

i could be thinking of something else, though

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]

To me, much of the dialogue sounds like someone trying to do QT, not him doing it. 'Wakey, Wakey, Eggs and Baccy', FFS! And that stupid speech about superman....ugg.

[/ QUOTE ]

my thought while watching the first one was "this all sounds like a rough draft of scenes he couldn't fit into his other movies"

it just didn't have that same spark.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

"Mutual decision" doesn't necessarily mean the same thing in Hollywood that it might elsewhere.

Think: "I'm not getting fired; I'm leaving to pursue exciting new opportunities!"

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
"Mutual decision" doesn't necessarily mean the same thing in Hollywood that it might elsewhere.

[/ QUOTE ]

good point.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

True Romance [censored] sucked.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

This movie blows.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
if i miss out on something good, oh well.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're missing out on something great. There are some scenes in 2 that are absolutely fantastic, but I won't elaborate for spoiler reasons. And to deprive yourself of a Tarantino/Madsen pairing is sad.

I like 2 better than 1, combined I rate them a solid 4.7.

p.s. How can you not like
http://pics.childeroland.be/pw.jpg

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
He steals from everything

[/ QUOTE ]
and he even pokes fun at himelf about this in Reservoir .

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

WTF??? how can you not like "wakey wakey, eggs and bacey!"?

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
True Romance [censored] sucked

[/ QUOTE ]
i'm a fan and i also thought Natural Born Killers was some of his best writing.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
True Romance [censored] sucked

[/ QUOTE ]
i'm a fan and i also thought Natural Born Killers was some of his best writing.

[/ QUOTE ]

I like True Romance quite a bit. I would have liked to have seen the script for NBK before Stone destroyed it. I don't think the finished product has much to do w/ Tarantino.

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
I like True Romance quite a bit. I would have liked to have seen the script for NBK before Stone destroyed it. I don't think the finished product has much to do w/ Tarantino.

[/ QUOTE ]
i completely agree. you can find the original script on the internet, maybe QT's website? very good stuff, i wonder how good it would have been w/o oliver stone's take on it?

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

How can you not like True Romance?

"You are part eggplant"

Re: Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Vol. 2 IMO is the much superior film and is more along the lines of QT's stuff. Neeless to say, I have a very high opinion of Vol. 2, and I do think that Uma THurman should've at least been considered for best actress for it

[/ QUOTE ]

everyone says they're so different, etc, but i have a strict policy on sequels/vol 2's: if i don't see anything in the first part that makes me think i'll like the next chapter, i don't bother with the rest. there's a lot of films I'd rather see than waste a bunch of time waiting for someone to get to the good stuff. if i miss out on something good, oh well.

[/ QUOTE ]

To lazy to read the whole thread so this might have been said, but it is in reality one long movie. It wasn't meant to be sequel, the original was just too long to be one film. This is a movie that HAS to be seen at the same time as Vol 2 for it to be fully understood. Also, Vol. 2 is better.