‘Kill Bill’ brings thrilling, over-the-top action

The operative statement in the title of Quentin Tarantinos new film is Volume 1, and thats the only problem I have with the movie.

Miramax (the company that released the film) and Tarantino decided at the last minute to split it into two parts, the second scheduled for release in January 2004. I think this is a cheap shot. Kill Bill (the entire story) may have clocked in at close to 3 1/2 hours, but audiences could sit through it, considering (from what we saw in Volume 1) that its one of the most visually exciting films in recent memory.

This criticism aside, Kill Bill: Volume 1 proves once again that Tarantino is a master of his craft and as much of a fan/student of film as he is a purveyor of the medium. The movie borrows heavily from genres such as Blaxploitation, spaghetti Westerns and, most notably, Hong Kong martial arts movies.

Uma Thurman plays a character referred to as The Bride, a.k.a. Black Mamba, a member of an elite hit squad run by the films title character.

The squad is mostly women, and all have serpentine nicknames, befitting the organizations moniker of Deadly Viper Assassination Squad.

In a flashback, we see The Bride on her wedding day and notice she is very pregnant. We learn that its Bills child.

But, instead of a wedding, the ceremony is a massacre. Nine people, including The Bride, are left for dead at the hands of Bill and four of his assassins. Theres one small (and four years later it becomes quite large) hitch in the plan, though. The Bride isnt dead.

She spends four years in the coma ward where one of the male nurses allows unspeakable acts to occur. The concept behind this scene, to me, was more disturbing than the copious amount of blood that is eventually shed throughout the film.

The Brides first act upon awakening is to take care of Nurse Buck and the latest of the men hes been charging for their idea of fun with a beautiful woman in a coma.

Next, The Bride remembers what fate befell her on her wedding day and sets out to exact her revenge.

She visits, one by one, the other members of DVAS, and each incident becomes a more spectacular exercise in cinematic carnage. Its so over the top that the viewer cant help but laugh. Thats the skill behind this sort of film, you never believe for one minute this could be real, so laughing when someone gets a limb (or head) severed isnt all that inappropriate.

The Brides first encounter is with Copperhead (Vivica A. Fox) who has retired from the death squad business and is now the mother of a young girl.

In the middle of a brutal knife fight, the youngster gets home from school and the two combatants have to take a short break. Its an unnerving, but hilarious, scene.

Eventually The Bride performs her mission and then apologizes to the kid for having to witness her mother’s demise.

The Brides next target is a nurse (Daryl Hannah) known as California Mountain Snake. She is less successful here and presumably will take care of business in Volume 2.

The climax of Volume 1 is a very long sequence where The Bride goes after O-Ren Ishii, known as Cottonmouth, played by Lucy Liu. Before their ultimate battle, The Bride has to defeat 88 yakuza warriors.

Tarantino pulls out all of the cinematic stops in Kill Bill: Volume 1. Some scenes are shot in black and white, theres an extended sequence of Japanese Anime-styled cartoon. Some of the bloodiest scenes have the grace that Ang Lee brought to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Then there’s Uma Thurman.

Tarantino has referred to her as his actress, and his filming reveals the love the two obviously have for each other. Extreme close-ups, lingering body shots and incredible focus on the actresses nuances make it plain that this movie was written with her in mind. And she is as enthralled with the project as Tarantino is with her.

She doesnt kill Bill. She leaves California Mountain Snake unfinished and never gets around to dealing with Budd, The Sidewinder. All of these will be dealt with in Volume 2, one supposes.

Kill Bill: Volume 1 is bloody to the extreme but its comical rather than believable. There are also some disturbing sexual references and the cartoon segment may be the most violent of any of the scenes. For film fans, though, its fun to see a director obviously delighting in his work.

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