The Flipcritic

Revenge is a dish best served cold
– Old Klingon Proverb

This opening adage heralds the arrival of KILL BILL, and clues us in on its nature. It sounds fearsome and true, but its origins are completely inane. The same can be said of the film. It contains parades of cringing violence that carry more weight and panache than they deserve. It is definitely not for everyone, and its value will seem trite. But for those who have long loved film, it is a serious send-up as well as passionate homage of the joyful side of martial arts movies.

The film revolves around The Bride (Uma Thurman) whose name is bleeped out several times in the film mainly for effect. She is found pregnant and at the edge of death along with her murdered wedding entourage at an abandoned chapel. She awakes at a local hospital only to discover that she no longer has her child and has been sexually abused while being comatose for 4 years. She then slays a would-be abuser, her previous abuser, and takes the latter’s “Pussy Wagon” to search for “The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad” who carried out her failed assassination, and their leader, Bill (David Carradine).

The plot is told in the familiar disjointed approach which Mr. Tarantino made famous in PULP FICTION and RESERVOIR DOGS. The Bride makes a list of each squad assassin to kill, they being composed of Vernita Green aka Copperhead (Vivica Fox), O-Ren Ishii aka Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu), Elle Driver aka California Mountain Snake (Darryl Hanna), and Budd aka Sidewinder (Michael Madsen). Various episodes are dedicated to the Bride’s battles with each member. And since she makes Bill the last list item, it’s safe to assume that nothing is revealed when I say that the Bride slays Copperhead and Cottonmouth in this installment before proceeding with the rest in Vol. 2. Even the movie’s tagline says so: “In the year 2003, Uma Thurman will kill Bill.”

It’s hard to think of any other director who could’ve handled such an undertaking. And in Quentin Tarantino’s hands, it doesn’t feel like a task, but a love offering to those who came before him. His honorees include Bruce Lee (the yellow jumpsuit), Roy Boulting’s TWISTED NERVE (Darryl Hannah’s whistle tune), Japanese action god Sonny Chiba (as Hattori Hanzo), the Japanese warrior code (samurais), Star Trek (the proverb), Anime, and a host of others that have been embedded in my subconscious.

Roger Ebert once said that a movie’s worth is not defined by what it is about, but how. And KILL BILL is a perfect example. The film’s story is as tired as movie clichés can get. But the manner by which it is presented is immensely enthralling. How many films about revenge have we seen (particularly in Filipino action films) driven by a [enter dastardly act here] against the hero’s [enter loved one here], predictably ending up in a shootout? Revenge also serves as this movie’s engine, but where as its inferiors are sedans, KILL BILL is a dragster with limo-like amenities. Mr. Tarantino doesn’t quick-cut or use different camera types to hype up the action, because the action doesn’t need hyping. He sticks to his samurai battles without blinking an eye. He waits patiently for his story to unfold, and doesn’t telegraph what we’re supposed to feel by hurrying the pace.

Mr. Tarantino also takes prominent ideas from his past inspirations and entrenches them into his film, mixing them with modern entertainment. A few of them blatantly, but most of them subtly Notice how he can make a modern Tokyo skyline look like one from a Godzilla movie (Despite its campy appearance, it somehow appears elegant and important with its fiery red horizon). Notice how he inserts pubescent anime types such as Go Go Yubari (Chiaki Kuriyama of JU-ON) and the boyish Crazy-88 samurai fighters into a one-against-all fight sequence reminiscent of Bruce Lee’s GAME OF DEATH (partly choreographed by Sonny Chiba himself).

Some of the film’s violence feel heavier than it actually merits. Mr. Tarantino imbues alarm and shock in almost every personal violent scene with keen single-mindedness. Mass killings on the other hand are treated with almost operatic levels of bloodshed. Just read A.O. Scott’s warning of the film: “It has shootings, stabbings, beatings, beheadings, disembowelings, amputations, mutilations, eye-gougings, slicings, choppings, bitings and a spanking. Also some naughty words.” Gruesome sprays of blood occur frequently at dismemberments. One assassin has her head blown away, another loses her head, lots lose their ankles, another… well you get the idea.

This disparity in the treatment of the film’s violence reveals how Mr. Tarantino wishes to keep us off-balance during the movie’s entirety. If you’ve seen KILL BILL’s trailer, you might notice how benign it all seems. But the film’s opening shot of Uma Thurman’s face practically half-bludgeoned to a pulp makes us recoil in shock, keeping us totally unprepared for what may happen next. It’s a neat conjuring act to maintain a level of tension during some moments, and to uncover pleasant surprises in others.

One of the most astonishing aspects of the film is Tarantino’s use of the anime genre to lessen a particular chapter’s impact, which details O-Ren Ishii’s background and climb to assassin-hood. It has sights of parents being murdered (through impaling) and a brief indication of pedophilia. His animated excerpts serve the film’s story drastically more than THE ANIMATRIX ever did for THE MATRIX trilogy with their intensity and boldness. If this section of the film were filmed in live-action, it might have not even qualified for its R rating.

Does Tarantino love Uma Thurman? You’ll think so after seeing this film (watch the close-ups of her toes), but probably he does only in a figurative sense. His passion for her abilities isn’t as close as Hitchcock’s obsession for Kim Novak (of VERTIGO fame), but it’s as evident as the film’s carnage. Some critics are already comparing the Bride to Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) of ALIENS, or Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) of TERMINATOR 2. But both of those women did not seek out to annihilate their foes, they defended themselves. Uma Thurman’s character goes out with the samurai code as her ethos, and eradicates her victimizers with bravura and dignity. What she does is not easy, nor is it for any of the film’s main players. They create sharp personalities without any underpinnings, and focus hard on maintaining their poise and physicality through every fight scene. Ms. Thurman should be nominated for an Oscar for sheer effort alone.

If the film has any obvious weakness, it’s in its dialogue. It doesn’t have the same snap, crackle, and pop that was so scrumptious in PULP FICTION. There are some treats here and there, such as when Hanzo, a master sword-maker describes his finest sword: “If on your journey you should encounter God… God will be cut.” Or when the Bride gives a final message: “I want him to know that I want him to know.” But the strength of this film is in its silly solemnity, its honoring of its ancestors, and the utter brazenness of its aggression.

Though I may have made the film sound like a terrifying bloodbath, a bloodbath it is but without the terror. I’d call it a Spaghetti Eastern that resonates with grace and bliss. If some movies are considered guilty pleasures, then KILL BILL would receive the death penalty. It is a brilliant display of style waaaay over substance. To criticize it because of its violence or realism is to completely miss its point. It is simply a wondrous overture of bloody fun.

Posted by FLIPCRITIC at January 21, 2004 10:00 PM