I watched Kill Bill: Volume 1 yesterday, (on DVD, courtesy of Aron) and, while it was an enjoyable movie, I don’t think it deserves the overwhelming praise heaped upon it by many critics.
I am going to reserve my final judgement on the movie-in-two-parts until I have a chance to see Volume 2, but at least from my perspective, the first installment was not an excellent action movie. Tarantino hasn’t directed an action movie in the past, he’s merely studied them, and I think it shows in his execution. What he is good at (and seemingly always has been) is infusing his projects with a great deal of style. Much of that comes from the marrying of music to onscreen action, as well as camera angles and perspectives. In this respect, KB:V1 excells.
The entire affair manages to be evocative of 70’s kung fu flicks and anime near-simultaneously, in an extremely in-your-face fashion. The action, dialog and plot all follow in the traditions of these two media art forms, which is to be expected, and the style with which said action, dialog, and plot are delivered is to be commended. Tarantino’s use of color (or lack thereof in a few critical scenes) lend a great deal to the mood and add to the impact of the film.
It also lacked much of the linguistic perversity that Tarantino’s other films are known for. This is not to say that there’s no cursing. Far from it. However, the dialog in itself avoided most of the sexual crudity that his other films featured, with the notable exceptions of the scenes featuring Buck and Gogo (you’ll know ’em when you see ’em).
Much of the talk surrounding the movie involved its extreme violence. However, after having seen The Passion, I was left a bit underwhelmed. The violence was evocative (and purposefully so, as I gather) of that seen in many anime movies and so was in itself more than a little cartoony. Some scenes struck me as part Monty Python’s Black Knight, part Akira, and part Evil Dead 2, all of which I feel was exactly how Tarantino wanted them to be perceived. The gritty, visceral realism of Gibson’s work was far more moving and even scarring to me than Tarantino’s cartoony fountains of blood.
When it comes down to it, I’m having a bit of trouble seeing what all the hype was about. I’ll write more once I see Volume 2.
Kill Bill: Volume 1
