KILL BILL volume 1

Almost Better'n Eggs and Bakey

       What Kill Bill Vol. 1 was to violence, Vol. 2 is to unadulterated, unedited, unfiltered Quentin Tarantino dialogue.  I have tried my very best not view this as two separate films since Quentin made them to be one, but having released them at such a distance from each other the task becomes difficult.  At the very least, the two halves are exceptionally different, but both fantastic nonetheless.

       I am indeed a staunch Tarantino fan.  I was a fan first of Reservoir Dogs, a brilliant violent art film about honor among thieves, and while much of its content was lifted from a Chow Yun Fat film called City on Fire, it remains to me one of the truly definitive crime films of my generation.  I still think True Romance (which he wrote) is a beautiful love story for the 13 year old inside every guy.  I loved Pulp Fiction, though not as much as Dogs, but highly, and decided with it that Quentin might be the film messiah.

        But then there was Jackie Brown.

       Oh, lord, Jackie "Slower than a Crack Whore on Her Last Drag" Brown.  Damn, what a crappy, disappointing waste of a De Niro/Sam Jackson combo.  Now, I will grant you, I don't like the genre he was playing with.  I have never had any interest in "blaxploitation" films like Coffey, or Shaft, or Dolomite.  Just don't do nothing for me.  But beyond that, it had the pacing of most films from the 70s... frickin slow.

       Then came redemption in the form of a Robert "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" Rodriguez partnership that yielded the wonderful From Dusk Till Dawn, two movies in one, half crime/half horror.  Excellent.  And then, after years of anticipation, we get The Bride, Uma Thurman, kickin ass and slashing trash in Kill Bill.  Fan-freaking-tastic.

       The problem is, I know that my viewing of these films - this film - was tainted by the splitting it received.  While I thoroughly enjoyed the kung-fu spoofiness, Tarantino quirkiness and the overall beauty of a Tarantino camera shot, Vol.2 felt a tad - just a tad, mind you - slow.  Would I feel this way watching Vol. 1 and 2 together as Quentin intended or would I feel like the second half was the perfect Eastern climax and denouement to the bloodfest that was the set up?  I will let you know when I do just that.  But do note my rating:  SUPER.  Regardless of this slight criticism, the film is wonderful.

       Whilst none of the villains have the evil and lovable appeal of Lucy Liu or the sexy hell-spawned innocence gone wrong of Go-Go and her mace, Daryl Hannah and Michael Madsen bring their own brand of villainy to the screen in the form of rancid bitch and laid back hick, respectively.  Both doing great acting jobs, particularly Madsen who is far from the Dogs Mr. Blonde, Uma is up against masters this time, and several twists await the viewer, all of which will be enjoyed.

       Tarantino also manages to make me squirm for longer than I did during Madsen's infamous ear-slicing scene in Dogs, by, again at the hands of Madsen, subjecting the audience to a first hand experience of being buried alive.  This is Tarantino at his sadistic finest.  I had no idea the concept of being buried alive scared me until this film.

       Uma is beautiful and excellent, Carradine is over-the-top and very well cast, and the film ends up being not at what we thought it was, somehow finding the time to explore its heart and doing it damn well.  Welcome back, Quentin, I can't wait for Inglorious Bastards.

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