Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Several years after the unbearable hype faded, Kill Bill is still a spectacle that has no equal in the realm of multi-genre action. Despite Quentin Tarantino being somewhat annoying from a media standpoint during this period, his sense of the tempo of revenge, the soundtrack, and the supporting characters were almost perfect. And when Hattori Hanzo appears and I have to swallow all my previous judgements, there is nothing left to do but give it five stars. (20/04/2005)

A purely visual and acoustic fashion-feast with a colorfully variable palette of moods. But rating it on its own would miss the mark. The first half is a bit lifeless, whereas the second half wouldn’t let me catch my breath. The sequel, Volume 2, should theoretically start in the spirit of the second half of the first Kill Bill. If it does start that way, I’m genuinely curious to see what the climax of the whole show will be. If it actually builds up further, as a three-hour whole, it will turn out to be a brilliant work. I believe that will happen. And I’m asking myself a key question: Is it even possible to make such a spectacular and cool film seanse out of such a simple subject? (07/10/2003)

There is a certain dose of exaggeration and typically Tarantino humor that the viewer must embrace right from the beginning, otherwise the film be a lousy experience. Tarantino is firmly in control and directs the way he wants, which is, of course, evident in the result. The whole film carries an excellent atmosphere, enhanced by perfectly tuned exteriors and brilliantly interwoven music. Kill Bill fulfills all the film elements to the fullest but it may happen that a more conservatively inclined viewer won’t find their way to it and will not like it. It was also very interesting to see Uma Thurman, who underwent intense training for this role and it is truly visible. Tarantino plays with visual composition, constructs dialogues well, and overall the film is more captivating with a plethora of references and clever tricks, rather than a basic message as such, which is truly simple. (08/11/2003)

A cool rip-off of Shogun Assassin with references to a couple dozen other films. One big stylistic exercise, which in the shadow of the brilliant Volume II completely loses its meaning and unnecessarily takes away from the credit of the whole. ♫ OST song rating: 4/5 (17/03/2023)

Classic Tarantino - some here will celebrate him, others will hate him. Personally, I don't know. Until the final fight I thought it was a decent average, but then it turned into such incredibly stupid crap, with people flying through the air like in The Matrix and blood spurting out of limbs, it made me wonder whether Quentin was just fucking with us. Uma Thurman in the lead role is now a cinematic icon, Tarantino in the chair is admirable, but this is more like one big parody. There are lots of sidetracks from the plot, some scenes are great, others nonsensical as if from another movie, but the finale (girl with a ball, screaming Japanese guys, blood…) killed any attempt at a legitimate action flick and turned Kill Bill into one big WTF. (28/03/2022)