Post by The Candyman on Aug 5, 2005 15:56:42 GMT -5
Quote: "Silly Caucasian girl likes to play with Samurai swords."
Starring: Uma Thurman, Vivica A. Fox, Lucy Liu
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Rating: R
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Perhaps I should begin by saying that I have not seen any of Quentin Tarantino’s other movies. No, not even Pulp Fiction. So if you’re reading this wanting to know how I think it stands in comparison to his other films, you’ve come to the wrong place. All I can comment on is this film itself. And you know what? I don’t know how it is in comparison to his others, but it’s still pretty good.
The plot can be explained in two words: Kill Bill. That’s really all this movie is about. If you’re looking for a movie with a strong message or at least some deep “meaning” behind it all, this isn’t the movie for you. At its core, this is just another revenge flick. But it’s certainly different from any other revenge movies you’re likely to see, simply because of Tarantino’s style.
The basic storyline: Black Mamba (a.k.a The Bride) was once part of a group of assassins. She quit the group, tried to start a new life, and was supposedly murdered at a wedding rehearsal by her former associates. Four years later, she wakes up out of a coma to find that she’s still alive and no longer pregnant. So she decides to go after the people who did it to her, especially the leader of them all: yeah, you guessed it, Bill.
Basically, this is a movie made by a film geek, especially for film geeks. This is Tarantino’s homage to old Japanese kung-fu movies. Recognize the names Sonny Chiang or Gordon Liu? I didn’t either, but they were old kung-fu stars, and they’re in this movie too. The people who will really enjoy these movies are the geeks. As in, the people who will realize that The Bride’s yellow jumpsuit is the same one worn by Bruce Lee in one of his movies (thanks to Hollywood Jesus for that bit of info). That being said, I still found it enjoyable, even though there are probably a ton of references to other films that I didn’t get. From the opening credits to the music, it’s obvious Tarantino is just having fun making a tribute to his favorite genres of movies.
Volume 1 is all about style. The story is paper-thin. The audience doesn’t know a whole lot about The Bride or her past relationships with the other characters; all that’s for certain is that this lady knows how to use a sword and she’s pretty good with it too. Want to know more about Bill? You won’t even get to see him until Volume 2. In this end though, it doesn’t really matter. This is a kung-fu movie, and all it tries to be is a kung-fu movie.
One of the very first scenes presents The Bride’s confrontation with Vernita Green, the second person on her “Death List”. As soon as The Bride lands the first punch, you know that this movie isn’t trying to take itself seriously; it’s just about having fun. The action is very over-the-top and in some ways I found it to be more like a comic book than a movie due to the directing.
You might have noticed that I said Green was the second person on the list. Don’t worry, the first will be explained all in due time. Tarantino goes back and forth through time effortlessly, and at no point was I confused as to what was going on. The Bride takes vengeance on O-ren Ishii first, and this character is given nearly as much treatment as the The Bride herself. Her back story is told in Japanese anime, another homage by Tarantino. The audience learns more about why she became an assassin than with any other character – that includes Volume 2 as well.
Once the anime sequence starts (about half way through the movie) things start to get bloody. This was surprising, since I’d heard so much about how bloody this movie was supposed to be. The only live-action blood flows during the climactic battle at the Blue Leaves Tea House, when The Bride takes on dozens of opponents. There is a ton of blood, yes, but not nearly as much as I thought there was going to be, and none of it is very realistic. It’s all so exaggerated that I found myself laughing during some parts, and I don’t see why anyone could ever claim it’s bloody enough to deserve an NC-17 rating. It’s basically just Monty Python and the Holy Grail with a larger sprinkler system. Limbs fly off and are replaced with geysers of blood shooting high into the air.
Also: did I mention that almost none of this scene is even in color? Most of it is shot in black-and-white or just in silhouette. Tarantino has directed it in such as a way that even when things do get a little too disgusting, it’s never shown in all of its crimson glory. There are constant switches from color to black-and-white, but what’s truly amazing is that none of these transitions feel tacked on for no apparent reason. This is what it’s supposed to be like.
Content-wise, there is a lot of profanity, and most of the time I felt like it wasn’t needed. Having Lucy Liu swear three times in two seconds just isn’t realistic. Sometimes, I can see when having a character swear would be necessary due to the nature of their character, but I felt Tarantino went an little overboard this time. Also, there is a great deal of sexual content – no actual scenes, just dialogue, and sometimes I felt Tarantino was using this to make a point (more on this later). One conversation between a hospital employee and a trucker who’s about to rape The Bride’s comatose body is especially graphic, and really serves no purpose.
This movie isn’t meant to provide the audience with a deep message. It’s just about having fun watching The Bride track down and get revenge on those who tried to kill her – it makes for great stress relief. Tarantino has taken a simple idea and used tons of stylistic devices to make it seem bigger than it really is. Story-wise, there’s nearly nothing; technically, it’s a visual masterpiece (check out those colors!). Also, this is only the first half of the movie. The second part is extremely different.
The Bottom Line: It’s all style, and no substance, but the style is just so cool that I think it deserves a 7/10.
Should I see it? If you don’t mind the offensive content, are a film geek, or just want to see a movie with incredible style, then yes. Also, it’s worth seeing just so you can move on to Volume 2, which is the superior half.
Starring: Uma Thurman, Vivica A. Fox, Lucy Liu
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Rating: R
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps I should begin by saying that I have not seen any of Quentin Tarantino’s other movies. No, not even Pulp Fiction. So if you’re reading this wanting to know how I think it stands in comparison to his other films, you’ve come to the wrong place. All I can comment on is this film itself. And you know what? I don’t know how it is in comparison to his others, but it’s still pretty good.
The plot can be explained in two words: Kill Bill. That’s really all this movie is about. If you’re looking for a movie with a strong message or at least some deep “meaning” behind it all, this isn’t the movie for you. At its core, this is just another revenge flick. But it’s certainly different from any other revenge movies you’re likely to see, simply because of Tarantino’s style.
The basic storyline: Black Mamba (a.k.a The Bride) was once part of a group of assassins. She quit the group, tried to start a new life, and was supposedly murdered at a wedding rehearsal by her former associates. Four years later, she wakes up out of a coma to find that she’s still alive and no longer pregnant. So she decides to go after the people who did it to her, especially the leader of them all: yeah, you guessed it, Bill.
Basically, this is a movie made by a film geek, especially for film geeks. This is Tarantino’s homage to old Japanese kung-fu movies. Recognize the names Sonny Chiang or Gordon Liu? I didn’t either, but they were old kung-fu stars, and they’re in this movie too. The people who will really enjoy these movies are the geeks. As in, the people who will realize that The Bride’s yellow jumpsuit is the same one worn by Bruce Lee in one of his movies (thanks to Hollywood Jesus for that bit of info). That being said, I still found it enjoyable, even though there are probably a ton of references to other films that I didn’t get. From the opening credits to the music, it’s obvious Tarantino is just having fun making a tribute to his favorite genres of movies.
Volume 1 is all about style. The story is paper-thin. The audience doesn’t know a whole lot about The Bride or her past relationships with the other characters; all that’s for certain is that this lady knows how to use a sword and she’s pretty good with it too. Want to know more about Bill? You won’t even get to see him until Volume 2. In this end though, it doesn’t really matter. This is a kung-fu movie, and all it tries to be is a kung-fu movie.
One of the very first scenes presents The Bride’s confrontation with Vernita Green, the second person on her “Death List”. As soon as The Bride lands the first punch, you know that this movie isn’t trying to take itself seriously; it’s just about having fun. The action is very over-the-top and in some ways I found it to be more like a comic book than a movie due to the directing.
You might have noticed that I said Green was the second person on the list. Don’t worry, the first will be explained all in due time. Tarantino goes back and forth through time effortlessly, and at no point was I confused as to what was going on. The Bride takes vengeance on O-ren Ishii first, and this character is given nearly as much treatment as the The Bride herself. Her back story is told in Japanese anime, another homage by Tarantino. The audience learns more about why she became an assassin than with any other character – that includes Volume 2 as well.
Once the anime sequence starts (about half way through the movie) things start to get bloody. This was surprising, since I’d heard so much about how bloody this movie was supposed to be. The only live-action blood flows during the climactic battle at the Blue Leaves Tea House, when The Bride takes on dozens of opponents. There is a ton of blood, yes, but not nearly as much as I thought there was going to be, and none of it is very realistic. It’s all so exaggerated that I found myself laughing during some parts, and I don’t see why anyone could ever claim it’s bloody enough to deserve an NC-17 rating. It’s basically just Monty Python and the Holy Grail with a larger sprinkler system. Limbs fly off and are replaced with geysers of blood shooting high into the air.
Also: did I mention that almost none of this scene is even in color? Most of it is shot in black-and-white or just in silhouette. Tarantino has directed it in such as a way that even when things do get a little too disgusting, it’s never shown in all of its crimson glory. There are constant switches from color to black-and-white, but what’s truly amazing is that none of these transitions feel tacked on for no apparent reason. This is what it’s supposed to be like.
Content-wise, there is a lot of profanity, and most of the time I felt like it wasn’t needed. Having Lucy Liu swear three times in two seconds just isn’t realistic. Sometimes, I can see when having a character swear would be necessary due to the nature of their character, but I felt Tarantino went an little overboard this time. Also, there is a great deal of sexual content – no actual scenes, just dialogue, and sometimes I felt Tarantino was using this to make a point (more on this later). One conversation between a hospital employee and a trucker who’s about to rape The Bride’s comatose body is especially graphic, and really serves no purpose.
This movie isn’t meant to provide the audience with a deep message. It’s just about having fun watching The Bride track down and get revenge on those who tried to kill her – it makes for great stress relief. Tarantino has taken a simple idea and used tons of stylistic devices to make it seem bigger than it really is. Story-wise, there’s nearly nothing; technically, it’s a visual masterpiece (check out those colors!). Also, this is only the first half of the movie. The second part is extremely different.
The Bottom Line: It’s all style, and no substance, but the style is just so cool that I think it deserves a 7/10.
Should I see it? If you don’t mind the offensive content, are a film geek, or just want to see a movie with incredible style, then yes. Also, it’s worth seeing just so you can move on to Volume 2, which is the superior half.