IMDb #172 Review: Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)

Source: Wikipedia

Schlock auteur Quentin Tarantino stitches together a Franken-movie from the severed appendages of an indiscriminate hodgepodge of world cinema. Then he shocks the monstrosity to live with an ample dose of ole QT's patented formula: pop culture references, rambling conversations, nonlinear storytelling, at least one trunk shot, and a little of the old ultraviolence.

The aggressive unrealism might jolt unsuspecting viewers from their verisimilitude-induced stupor. Have no fear. Once you realize it's just a film that knows it's a film, you can relax and drink in the spectacle. Which tastes remarkably like blood. So. Much. Blood.

The story is bonkers. A lady assassin wakes up from a coma to hunt other assassins that screwed her over big time. The revenge plot and list of colorful baddies to waste, might feel familiar. But the pace blazes along so fast you can hardly keep up with the cliche barrage.

Just let it wash over you: Rouse the old master swordsmith out of retirement! Lone warrior versus faceless army! Not one, not two, but three requisite girl fights!

(Admittedly, our anonymous protagonist exhibits the personality depth of a quietly hostile salad fork. But salad forks can prove useful for scooping out eyeballs and occasionally cleaning toenails, although they cannot explain QT's obsession with Uma Thurman's crooked, gangly, hideous feet.)

Er, right, the movie.

The delivery method of stylized insanity wanders all over the cinematic landscape. It cuts from color to black-and-white to dalliances in silhouettes, from live action-cartoon to literal Japanese cartoon, and ultimately to literal Japan. That's where the real magic happens.

(Opinion time. The second installment fared worse, not because it was slower and longer, but because it lacked the majesty that is the Crazy 88, and Gogo the delightfully psychotic schoolgirl bodyguard, and O'Ren the incredibly unlikely female Chinese-American yakuza boss. Tough to top.)

It's cheese, but strong and delicious cheese. Not to everyone's taste, but appropriate in measured doses with proper company and adequate ventilation.

111 minutes.