28. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
27. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
Directed and Written by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen, and Lucy Liu
I know I'm kinda cheating here since these are technically supposed to be one film but there are enough stylistic differences for me to consider it otherwise. Besides, it would have been kinda hard to just talk about it in two paragraphs. This is, to me, Tarantino's masterpiece. We get a lot of the style, genre bending, witty dialogue, and gore that defines him as a director and writer. There is not a single actor who doesn't turn in a performance that is truly awesome. But, let's get into specifics, shall we.
I'm going to start out by talking about one of the best scenes, The House of Blue Leaves aka the scene where The Bride fights a lot of assassins at the same time. The fight choreography is just terrific. Every swing of the sword, the movement of each combatant, it's just so organic and realistic that it doesn't feel scripted. The music, when we get it in the scene, helps so much as well. There is a point where the film turns black and white. This was done to cover up some of the violence but I really think it works. It adds an extra sense of mood to the scene invokes classic kung-fu movies. Then there's the duel between Lucy Liu and Uma. It's probably the second best fight sequence in the movie.
Earlier I said there were some stylistic differences between these two films. This is true. Vol. 1 is much more of a straight forward action movie. We get some character development but it takes a back seat to the kung-fu homage that makes up the majority of part 1. Vol. 2, the movie kinda changes. It get a little bit more heavy into the Kung-fu feeling of Vol. 1 but it also becomes more personal, especially during the last half. The fight between Elle Driver and The Bride is white trash and thrilling at the same time. On one hand we have The Bride, a wronged woman, on the other hand we have Elle, unrepentant murderer who also killed The Bride's master. The raw emotions between the two women makes this scene ultra thrilling but it's nothing compared to the last scene between The Bride and Bill. We don't get much of a fight here but it is still very personal as The Bride is reunited with her daughter.
I enjoy this movie because it's fun but I also enjoy it because it feels like the director had passion doing it. So often, you watch an action movie and it's alright but you know the people were doing it for the cash, nothing more. With Kill Bill, it seems like the people had as much fun making it as the audience does. Uma Thurman is always great under Tarantino's watchful eye and it would be asking too much for her to be in all of his films like Helena Bonham Carter is in all of Tim Burton's these days but it would be nice. They make a great team and you know they enjoy working together. People who like working together make great cinema. Ben Affleck is really only good when he's working with Kevin Smith and they enjoy working together. Really, Kill Bill works because it's a labor of love and it's fun to watch and that is what counts.
Next Time: "Hello, gorgeous." "What you're going to see are the designs and pictures and stories that music inspired in the minds and imaginations of a group of artists. In other words, these are not going to be the interpretations of trained musicians, which I think is all to the good."
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