Review: Kill Bill

Rated R | 110 mins

Quentin Tarantino’s latest film is usually astounding. The fight choreography, dialogue (or lack thereof), and direction are all nearly perfect. I was consistently fascinated and entertained by Kill Bill; it’s one of the most interesting and unique productions to come along in the entire history of film. But right when I was having the time of my life, ninety-five minutes into the movie, it came to a screeching, inconclusive, idiotic, and disappointing halt. I had seen Volume One of a two-part journey. When each screening of this movie ends, the entire audience will be very, very angry. We feel as though we’ve witnessed an episode of our favorite sitcom finish, right before a very exciting scene is about to take place, and fade to a screen, which features those three dreaded words: “To Be Continued.” But we don’t just have to wait a week to see the rest of the episode, however. Kill Bill: Volume Two will be released in February of 2004; that’s nearly four months away!

Did Tarantino really split Kill Bill into two parts because he thought that it would be more easily and thoughtfully viewed in such a way? Positively not. It was obviously Miramax who made the decision, for they’ll make double the amount of money that they would’ve made, if they had released Kill Bill in one extraordinary long epic—the way it was originally intended to be seen. While they clearly have some great businessmen working for them, the quality of the motion pictures that they release is definitely a second priority.

Thankfully, even though the split will leave a bad aftertaste in viewer’s mouths, after viewing Volume One, most everyone who witnesses it will eagerly await, and come back and see, Volume Two in February. Tarantino has a masterful way of meshing the action scenes together; it’s really phenomenal. Stunt choreographers Yuen Wo-Ping and Sonny Chiba obviously spent a gigantic amount of time working on Kill Bill, and the beauty of his work is extremely noticeable in the fight scenes. The cinematography, by Robert Richardson, is also interesting. Every frame of every shot is stunning, intrepid, and one of a kind. While many will not like Kill Bill, simply because it’s so violent and disturbing, even they will be able to appreciate the filmmakers’ work on it.

The cast is bold and witty in performing. From the dialogue to the body language, the headlining members of the project, Uma Thurman, Daryl Hannah, Lucy Lui, and Vivica A. Fox, are absolutely perfect. It’s much harder than one would expect to actually act in an action film, let alone a Tarantino action film, but these five are tremendous in doing so.

All in all, Kill Bill is certainly worth a sit, because of the amazing photography, stunt-work, and performances. Prepare for the disappointing ending, though—it’s disruptively uncalled for. There are certain (even artful) ways that Tarantino could’ve cut Kill Bill into two parts. Sadly, the way it has been, is not one of them.

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After Thoughts (added on 10/20/03): Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my rating for Kill Bill, and why I deducted from its score, simply because of the two-part split. Is this a flaw to the actual volume? Is it any less of a picture the way it is? Perhaps I was being too harsh the first time around, and the film would be better judged if the split wasn't taken into account; I would like to stress the fact that Kill Bill would've earned a perfect score if it hadn't been cut into two different volumes. Anyways, go see it, for that's all that matters. Ratings now suck, in my opinion. People misperceive a reviewer's thoughts greatly, just by reading the term "3/4 Buckets."

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