Quentin Tarantino is well known for creating films that owe a lot to other genres of cinema. Not only are many of his films quite violent, which has caused some controversy in the director’s career, but the style of his films are usually hybrids, whether they integrate styles and themes from Spaghetti Westerns, Honk Kong Martial Arts or Grindhouse films. His movies can not really be classified as a specific genre, so Kill Bill, the 4th film that he wrote and directed, is best described as a revenge movie.
A short, tense introduction sequence sets the tone of the film we are about to watch: a bloody, violent tale of a Bride gunned down at her wedding that sets out for revenge against the assassins who tried to kill her.
In typical Tarantino fashion, we are treated to some brilliant fight scenes that aren’t afraid to get straight to the point; the beginning has a brawling, knife fight between The Bride (Uma Thurman, in one of her finest ever performances) and Black Mamba, a lady member of the assassination squad that is on our protagonists Hit List. At the very top of this list is the titular Bill, a mysterious man with a samurai sword who pulls the trigger on The Bride in the opening sequence. Kill Bill’s action scenes are clearly influenced by Hong Kong/Japanese Martial Arts/ Samurai movies; every shot oozes style. A climatic showdown between The Bride and a big group of Japanese samurai is incredibly fun to watch, edited to perfection and keeps Tarantino’s vision pitch perfect all the way through.
Regarding the score and soundtrack, Tarantino clearly has the knack when it comes to mismatching music and events on screen, and it just works. Even if the plot is relatively simple; even if you could argue this film is style over substance, when the style is this good, it doesn’t matter.
There is even a section of the film shown in Japanese Anime, which is another feature of the film greatly influenced by Asian Cinema. Lucy Liu plays a wonderfully brutal boss of the Japanese Yakuza who is on The Bride’s hit list; in one scene slicing a man’s head clean off with a samurai, and then preceding to ask if anyone else disagrees with her who now know the consequences.
Tarantino-after 7 years- is back, and it’s great.
Daz @ The Movies 