Coty Geek
Uma Thurman squares off with Lucy Liu
Quentin Tarantino is one of those directors that you either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. Most people say his first two films, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, were masterpieces in of themselves, but that his third film, Jackie Brown tried too hard to be a Blaxploitation film. I found his 4th film, Kill Bill to be something of a conundrum. I couldn’t quite figure out exactly what I thought about it.
On one hand, I felt that Tarantino was just making a mashup of all the kung fu, samurai, crime, and revenge movies that he grew up liking. I caught almost all of the homages and references that he threw at me, and couldn’t tell if I respected the nods or felt he relied on them too much.
And then, on the other hand, I felt he had created a film, that while heavily connected to the movies he loved, stood on its own in terms of characters and action. I felt that it had to be more than a mash up. It had to be more than just a game of “catch the reference.”
And now I find myself watching it again, and happily thinking to myself “you were right.” To all the people who felt that Kill Bill was simply a mashup, a recycling of old kung fu movie plot elements, then reexamine it. If you take out the homages, the references, and just look at the story in of itself, you’ll find that it is actually a fun movie. It never strives to be more than what it is, and for that, you really have to respect Tarantino for simply making the film he wanted to make. For that, I think everyone should re-examine it for themselves.
You can grab it here if you want to give it a try. Kill Bill – Volume One
Just remember that in order to get full enjoyment out of it to watch both volumes together, so here’s volume 2: Kill Bill – Volume Two
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