Movie Review: Kill Bill: Vol. 1
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What Parents Should Know
Parents should exercise the strongest caution before
allowing their kids to see this film. They should know that the
movie has the most intense, graphic, brutal, and destructive
violence imaginable (at least until Tarantino thinks up
something new). Body parts are sliced off and blood gushes and
spurts like a geyser. Many characters are maimed and many more
are killed. A mother is murdered in front of her young child. A
man's head is sliced off and tossed around. A character is
repeatedly raped while she is unconscious. Characters drink and
smoke and use very strong language.
Families who see this movie could talk about the sources of inspiration Tarantino drew from.
Common Sense Media Review
This is a stylish and visually striking movie, but it is
also a very violent movie. Make that a very, very, very, very
violent movie, possibly the most violent movie ever released by
a major American movie studio. The carnage is so completely and
outrageously over the top that it is not disturbing in an
unsettling
Saving Private Ryan/this really happened way; some
viewers, however, may find it disturbing in another way, as the
endless slicing off of body parts and gallons (purportedly 450)
of fake spurting blood may feel overwhelming or even numbing.
For me, what was most unsettling was the way that the audience
laughed at the movie's most violent and disturbing moments.
Director/screenwriter Quentin Tarantino wisely used the simplest possible plot, one that can be summarized in one word: revenge. Once that plot trigger is cocked, the rest of the movie is just one fight scene after another, and yet the revenge provides a motive and a hero, and that gives the fight scenes enough forward momentum to feel like a story.
Uma Thurman plays someone we just know as "The Bride" (her name is bleeped out). On her wedding day, the entire wedding party was killed by her former associates, the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS). The pregnant Bride was beaten and shot in the head, but did not die. She lost her baby and was in a coma for four years. When she wakes up, she seeks revenge from each of the DiVAS and their leader, Bill.
Audiences who are looking for subtlety, heart, or insights about the human condition will not find much to like in this film. But fans of this genre will find it sensationally (in both senses of the word) entertaining. Former video clerk and Cuisinart-brained film savant Tarantino pays tribute to his beloved Hong Kong and spaghetti Western films. The action scenes are brilliantly staged, including a silhouetted one-against dozens in silhouette, an anime detour and a climactic scene with heart-stopping acting in a silent and gently snowy Japanese garden. Tarantino's other trademarks -- fabulously cool music selections, playing around with time sequences, and colorful dialogue mixing pop culture with offhand references to outrageous brutality and horrible crimes -- are all there in full force. Ectomorph goddess Uma Thurman gives a dazzling performance. She, Viveca A. Fox, and Lucy Liu all have both the acting and action chops to more than hold their own in fight scenes with eye-popping visuals that would overwhelm most performers.
A breathtaking cliff-hanger of an ending will have to hold audiences until part two is released in February of 2004. While this film seems all about sensation, Tarantino promises that the second half will add some depth and meaning. If he does, maybe I'll raise the grade on this one.
Parents should exercise the strongest caution before allowing their kids to see this film. They should know that the movie has the most intense, graphic, brutal, and destructive violence imaginable (at least until Tarantino thinks up something new). Body parts are sliced off and blood gushes and spurts like a geyser. Many characters are maimed and many more are killed. A mother is murdered in front of her young child. A man's head is sliced off and tossed around. A character is repeatedly raped while she is unconscious. Characters drink and smoke and use very strong language.
Families who see this movie could talk about the sources of inspiration Tarantino drew from.
Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and some of the Hong Kong action films that inspired this one.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
