Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Joe Nguyen, staff writer
Oct. 13, 2003

"Revenge is a dish best served cold."

That quote, taken from "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," essentially is the entire plot Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill." Uma Thurman plays The Bride who, after waking up from a four-year coma, is set on getting revenge on the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS), the people who put her there in the first place.

I had heard about this movie in January. It was Tarantino doing a Hong Kong style movie, so I was hyped. However, there was one thing that bothered me coming into this movie. Lucy Liu, a Chinese-American, was to play a Japanese character. In my mind, it felt like, "Here's another example of how many people have the perception that all Asians are alike." I was pleasantly surprised to find out that had put in an entire scene dealing with this subject matter.

Uma Thurman stars as The Bride in Kill Bill

This is hands-down, the bloodiest, most violent movie I have ever seen in my lifetime. 450 gallons of fake blood was used in filming the two volumes of Kill Bill. Was this over-excessive? Not when you're considering that Tarantino was using an animé style of fighting. When people were losing their limbs, blood gushed out like a fountain, reminiscent of a movie like Ninja Scroll, a classic in Japanese animation.

On the same note, QT even employed an extended sequence using Japanese animation to tell the origin of O-Ren Ishii, played by Lucy Liu. The scene fit seemlessly in the midst of a live-action movie.

Stylewise, QT took from many types of Hong Kong movies. The yellow and black track suit Uma Thurman wore was the same one Bruce Lee had used in Game of Death. The fight scene where Thurman fought the Crazy 88 army was very similar to Jackie Chan's restaurant fight in Drunken Master 2, except that everyone had swords, and limbs were flying everywhere. The zoom in on Thurman's face and the loud brass music when she encounters Sofie Fatale (Julie Dreyfuss) felt just like a Bruce Lee scene when he encounters an enemy.

The music was what really made the movie. QT has always had good taste in picking music for his features and this was no different. The music dictated the mood of the story.

The acting was good. Chiaki Kuriyama, who plays Go Go Yubari, was a very good casting choice. Her portrayal of the sadistic, insane, yet loyal bodyguard of Ishii was exceptional. Sonny Chiba, who plays Hattori Hanzo, was hilarious. His bantering with Kenji Ohba was among the funniest parts in the movie.

There was only one big problem I had with this movie: It was incomplete. QT cut it off with a real big cliffhanger that leaves you craving for more. Overall, this was a very entertaining movie that I would suggest to those who love action movies. This is definitely not a movie for the kiddies.

Joe gives "Kill Bill: Vol. 1":

Joe Nguyen is a staff writer for asiaXpress.com. You can reach Joe at joe@asiaxpress.com.

Back to The Reel World | Home