Truth be told, I expected to be let down by “Kill Bill – Vol. 1.” I just never expected to be quite so disappointed. The hype surrounding what Miramax’s movie posters and TV ads pompously hail as “the fourth film by Quentin Tarantino” will no doubt bring many people to the theaters, but believe you me, a great deal of them will leave feeling cheated. What the Miramax publicity machine isn’t crowing about is that the third film by Quentin Tarantino was a bit of a flop called “Jackie Brown” that so unnerved the director, it took him six years to get back in the saddle again (and he apparently still hasn’t recovered). Or that “Kill Bill” was conceived and shot to be one movie, and that Tarantino’s self-indulgence (he collected so much footage, the production went $20 million over budget) combined with a shameless money grab by the studio means we’re expected to pay twice — now, and again when the second half of the film opens in February.
Besides the over-the-top violence — this is without a doubt one of the goriest movies of all-time — what stands out most in “Kill Bill – Vol. 1” isn’t what happens in the film, it’s what doesn’t happen. There is no discernible first, second or third act, and no real surprises or engaging subplots to draw us in. And none of that rat-a-tat-tat dialogue that seasoned “Pulp Fiction” and “Reservoir Dogs.” If any of the characters in the film experience a single emotion, they sure as hell aren’t letting anyone in on it. But most of all, what’s absent here is a reason to care about what’s going on … unless, of course, you’re a devotee of the “grind house” kung fu films that so greatly inspired the non-stop combat in “Kill Bill.” And in fairness, Tarantino should be commended for the inventive fight scenes, which rival anything in “The Matrix.” Too bad that’s all there is.
Here’s what passes for plot: Uma Thurman plays The Bride, aka Black Mamba, who is (or was) a member of an elite group of assassins called the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS). In the grisly opening sequence, the very-pregnant Bride is shot in the head by her colleagues and left for dead among the slaughtered bodies of her entire wedding party. But she doesn’t die, and when she awakes from a coma four years later, she’s understandably ticked off. So she makes a list, the “Death List 5,” and sets out on a blood-splattered, body-and limb-strewn road to revenge. She starts in Pasadena with Vernita Green, aka Copperhead (Vivica A. Fox), stabbing her to death in front of her young daughter, then moves on to Tokyo to take on O-Ren Ishii, code-name Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu). And that’s it. The End. Tune in February for the exciting conclusion.
There’s more that could be written here about “Kill Bill,” but I’m going to follow the filmmaker’s lead and save it for early 2004 when we get to fork over another eight bucks to see the rest of the fourth film by Quentin Tarantino. I’ve even got a clever name all ready to go: “Disappointing Review – Vol. 2.” (Rated R. Running time: 110 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 10, 2003. Read the original PDF.