Film review: Kill Bill Vol. 1(long)

[KDawg]

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)

[KDawg]

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

[Eihli]

my number 2 movie of all time

[diebitter]

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

[KDawg]

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

[voltron.]

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.

[TiltMonkey]

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.

[pryor15]

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.

[KDawg]

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

[pryor15]

[ 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.