Tags
2000's, Action, Daryl Hannah, David Carradine, Kill Bill Vol 1, Lucy Liu, Martial Arts, Michael Madsen, Quentin Tarantino, Revenge Drama, Uma Thurman, Vivica A. Fox
Film Title
Kill Bill Vol 1
Director
Quentin Tarantino
Starring
- Uma Thurman as The Bride/Black Mamba
- David Carradine as Bill
- Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii/Cottonmouth
- Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver/ California Mountain Snake
- Vivica A. Fox as Vernita Green/ Copperhead
- Michael Madsen as Budd/Sidewinder
Quentin Tarantino’s fourth movie is an action packed, blood soaked revenge tale told with stylish panache and various references to other genres. From samurai movies to anime and western, Tarantino fashions all of these into this wildly entertaining action with a breakneck pace and a seriously kick ass heroine.
Left for dead on her wedding day, a woman, known only as “The Bride” eventually awakens from a four-year coma after a mosquito bites her. In non-linear fashion, we are informed of her origins and what led to her near death experience. She was once a member of The Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, an elite group of skilled assassins under the charge of the eponymous Bill. She went by the codename Black Mamba whilst working for the squad. The Bride, who was also pregnant was attacked by the other members on her wedding day and Bill put a bullet in her head. After waking from her coma and realising her baby is now gone, The Bride’s rage begins to manifest and she swears a brutal revenge. Escaping hospital, she quickly makes a list of the members of the assassination squad who she intends to kill one by one for their part in her brutal attack. Vol 1 deals with The Bride tracking down two of the members on the list, the fierce Vernita Green and the powerful O-Ren Ishii. And so begins a wildly entertaining revenge saga that is daring, über stylish and full of bloody violence and action. As the proverb at the beginning of the film states “Revenge is a dish best served cold”. Or in Tarantino’s case, cold and covered with lashings of blood.
Tarantino should be praised for the way he manages to incorporate so many disparate influences into a seriously entertaining though brutal film. From utilising music from classic westerns and featuring a startling anime sequence, he definitely knows how to keep you watching. The kinetic editing is superb in capturing The Bride’s one-woman mission to annihilate those who have caused her great pain. Special notice must go to the fighting choreography which really is something to behold. The biggest highlight is The Bride’s blood soaked duel with the Crazy 88, hitmen for O-Ren. Cutting between colour and black and white gives the scene a thrilling and daring quality that is hard to not appreciate. Some may complain that the film is an example of style over substance, but if that is the case you have to admit that the style is certainly entertaining nonetheless. As is the case with most of Tarantino’s movies, the soundtrack is an eclectic listen, this time featuring music from Spaghetti Westerns, old samurai movies and thrillers.
The cast of the Kill Bill Vol 1 all deliver memorable work. Heading the cast with a searing performance is Uma Thurman as The Bride. She encompasses the pain that gives way to unleashing her inner rage and physical strength on those who betrayed her with fearless ability. The Bride is one seriously kick ass character who you really don’t want to mess with. Although his face isn’t seen, David Carradine manages to make Bill a menacing character just with the sound of his voice. He is cloaked in enigmas as the story unfolds and The Bride makes it her priority to kill everyone before reaching the traitorous Bill. Out of the other members of the assassination team, which includes Vivica A. Fox and Michael Madsen, Lucy Liu and Daryl Hannah make the biggest impacts. Lucy Liu embodies the fierce violence within O-Ren which stems for a childhood in which she witnessed her family’s murder. Her duel with The Bride is a visually spectacular highlight as they fight with katanas in the snow. Daryl Hannah makes quite an entrance as the one-eyed Elle Driver. Strutting into hospital dressed in white while whistling a chilling song and planning The Bride’s death, she is most certainly an interesting creation from Tarantino.
Ultra violent, daring and stylish, Kill Bill Vol 1 isn’t for the faint of heart. But it will appeal to those who get the various genre references and who want to witness the excellent and hypnotic work from Quentin Tarantino.
Al said:
Loved both of these films 🙂
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vinnieh said:
Thanks Al, yeah they really are good movies.
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davideperretta said:
Need to revisit these classics. Those are some of the movies that got me into film. It’s been too long, but I love them dearly. Thanks for brining it up!
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, hope you do revisit them.
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Cavershamragu said:
More than anything though what I really want to see is the long -promised single volume edit as I really would like to see how that plays.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, that would be really interesting to watch.
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CinemaClown said:
Excellent review, Vinnieh. Must add that the soundtrack is freaking awesome & perfectly fits every single scene… The best use of music amongst all Tarantino films, so far.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, I love the soundtrack so much.
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mikeyb @ screenkicker said:
Its extremely uneven but once you get to the last half hour it becomes the greatest film ever! The music and visuals in the big fight near the end are mind-blowing
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, that last half hour is mind blowing as you said.
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jjames36 said:
Great review! I was surprised how much I like this flick. It is very good.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I’ve heard a lot of people say that about this film.
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ckckred said:
Funny, I was thinking about seeing this again last night but saw Inglourious Basterds instead. Nice review, love both parts.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, I will watch the second part as soon as I can.
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Tim The Film Guy said:
Better of the two 😀
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, haven’t seen the second part in ages.
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CMrok93 said:
Good review Vinnie. Tarantino just loves everything he’s throwing up on screen at us, and needless to say, it seems like we all do too. The second one didn’t really work as well for me as this one did, but it’s still a solid sequel in its own right.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, it really is a whole lot of fun.
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sidekickreviews said:
Excellent review. The fight choreography is fantastic.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, it was so impressive and made for some amazing scenes.
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thomasjford said:
Kill Bill is certainly a love it or hate it kind of film, but I’m firmly in the love it camp. As with all Quentin’s stuff.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, it is divisive but I loved it.
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Abbi said:
One of my favourite movies of all time… and The Bride is unquestionably one of my favourite characters of all time.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, she really does kick some major ass and rocks that yellow jumpsuit.
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Mark Walker said:
Excellent review Vinnie. I think I slightly prefer Vol 2 but there’s no better scene than that (very brief) but superb showdown with O-Ren Ishi. One of Tarantino’s finest scenes in fact!
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, that is an amazing showdown in my book as well.
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Genki Jason said:
Great review! I liked this film more than the sequel because the Asian exploitation film references came from films I grew up on. Nothing tops the fights between The Bride and O-ren Ishii’s gang.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks for the comment, really interesting. That is one kick ass fight.
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jeffro517 said:
Nice review. This is a great movie with so much to offer.
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vinnieh said:
Thanks, there’s just so much to praise in the film.
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