Kill Bill: Volume 1 – Film Review

Cast: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen, Vivicia A Fox, Gordon Liu, Sonny Chiba

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Synopsis: After a Bride (Thurman) is brutally beaten up by her former assassination squad members on her wedding day, after a lengthy spell in a coma, she wakens and swears revenge on her former colleagues, and her boss, Bill.

Review: If you ever want some terrific over-the-top violence and some well written characters from your movies, then Mr Quentin Tarantino is the director who usually has you covered, particularly when it comes to the over-the-top violence, and blood, lots and LOTS of blood.

For many people, their wedding day is the happiest day of their lives, well not for a lady who we initially just know as The Bride codenamed, Black Mamba. Her former colleagues of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad arrive at the ceremony to literally rain blood and bullets on her parade with some messy consequences that leave her in a coma for four years. Once she awakens, she is furious and on a very personal mission of revenge against her former assassination squad members. As the old saying goes “hell hath no fury, like a woman scored.” She is a woman on a mission with a hit list of names to find and take revenge,  which as the film reminds us, is a dish best served cold.

After making his name in very bloody fashion with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, and six years after the release of Jackie Brown, Tarantino emerged with a new film that originally spanned over four hours, as such he decided to cut it into two movies. This first film of this extraordinary story focuses on the Bride as she tracks down the first name on her death list O-Ren Ishii, (Lucy Liu) but in typical Tarantino fashion, the story is not told linearly, jumping back and forth between the present and events in the past, but he does so with great effect.

Tarantino, after winning an Oscar for an Original Screenplay for Pulp Fiction, once again shows off his tremendous talent as a writer. Yet here he certainly honed his craft as an excellent director of action. From the very first shots that  feature a very beaten up Bride, you know it’s time to fasten your seatbelts, as you’re in for a bloody and entertaining thrill ride. The story is tremendous, with very well developed characters all round, with a superb screenplay. It’s very apparent that anime, martial arts and spaghetti westerns are influences in the writing, with plenty of visual nods to the aforementioned genres and it’s all fused together incredibly well.

Uma Thurman in the lead gives an absolutely tremendous performance, one of the very best lead female characters that has ever been put to the big screen. She is utterly without mercy and compassion as she hunts down her colleagues and will not hesitate to kill any and all who stand in her path. As she’s our protagonist,  you want to root for her as she battles her foes, with the film’s final showdown certainly being one of the most gripping and enthralling confrontations that has ever been put to screen, certainly one of the most bloody too with swords swinging and limbs flying absolutely everywhere, and lots and lots of blood.

Her former colleagues that we meet here O-Ren, Vernita Green (Vivicia A Fox) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) all give tremendous performances as the merciless members of the assassination squad. Furthermore even though we never see his face, the big boss Bill emits a sadistic, cold, merciless persona just through his voice, and the late David Carradine does an excellent job bringing him to life and besides Thurman, it’s his work that helps to steal the show. Tarantino almost never fails to bring deep and interesting characters to the big screen in his movies, and the crop of characters, both lead and side characters certainly don’t disappoint. It’s a bloody thrilling ride, and we’re only halfway into the story.

Terrific writing, expert directing and some top performances particularly from Thurman and Carradine, Tarantino managed to slash together another extraordinary film that definitely ranks among his very best.