I bought Kill Bill Volume one on DVD the other day. I saw it at the cinema when it was out but after having watched it again, I decided that I must review it! I have to first of all say that I love Quentin Tarantino’s movies (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and Jackie Brown) so I will try to be as impartial as possible in my review! The film was made as one whole project but after production they decided to split it into two volumes.

I think I must underline one point about this film. It does contain a lot of violence and gore; however, it goes beyond the realms of reality in my opinion, particularly towards the end of the film. This is not a criticism, in fact au contraire, I find this a positive point as the actual focus is the samurai sword fighting, which is brilliantly choreographed and should not be detracted from in my view. Thus, in Kill Bill Volume One, if you watch it, don’t be deterred from the violent aspect, as much of it is comic (comic book). Fair enough if you do not like to watch films of this nature but there is no compulsion and it really riles me when people watch films like this already fully warned and then moan about how excessive the violence is. There is a solution, don’t watch it! Or at least wait until it is on Sky then you can switch it off if it offends you! Now, time to get off my soapbox and lets talk storyline.

The storyline of this film is basic and does not pretend to be anything other than that. Basically Uma Thurman’s character (who in the first film is unnamed, she is simply called the Bride (this was done as a tribute to Clint Eastwood’s character the Man with No Name in his Western films)) was the member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad but the squad disbands and she starts a new life. However, on her wedding day the rest return and kill all at the wedding but not the Bride who is left comatose. However, we do not see this (physically) until the second film, although we are basically told it all in the first. The Bride upon awaking from the coma decides to go on the path of revenge (which according to the film is a dish best served cold), intending to kill all the members and of course last of all Bill.

Typically, however, Tarantino doesn’t tell the story from start to finish. In fact technically, the film starts at the point the first volume should end. A little confusing I know but it is clear when you see the film. He also separates the film into different chapters, which lessen the confusion further. The first chapter is where we see the Bride go to a former Squad member’s house to kill her. The first (well second actually!) member we see in the film is Vernita Green (played by Vivica A. Fox) and they start fighting in Vernita’s house. This is a great starting scene that culminates in them fighting sword style with a knife and a saucepan! The choreography is superb in this scene. It must be remembered that Kill Bill is intended more as homage to many other different films and although it could be said he does nothing original this is true in terms of scenes but not so because he has integrated those different genres together.

Then the film cuts back in chapter two to the when the Bride awakens from her coma and her escape from the hospital. Then, we are told of the past history of the first person on her list O-Ren Ishii (played by Lucy Liu) and this part is in anime (this is basically a Japanese cartoon style, which has its own distinct look for those that are wondering). The film then progresses to it’s conclusion from here with the Bride acquiring a samurai sword and locating O-Ren. I must make a special mention though to the penultimate fight scene in this when the Bride must grapple with the ‘Crazy 88’ who are basically lackeys of O-Ren’s there are some great samurai/ kung-fu parts here.

Personally, one of the most pleasing aspects for me about Kill Bill was that even though it was predominantly based around the fighting and exuberance of the different style shown in the film, the actors are given scope to perform well and indeed they do. I especially think that a character called Hattori Hanzo (played by Sonny Chiba) was good. Hanzo is a sword maker in the film who crafts a sword for the Bride. His character is great and he performs really well. I think Lucy Liu plays her role well too, which I must admit did surprise somewhat! Initially I thought I possibly would not be able to take her that seriously given films she has made before and of course her character in TV show Ally McBeal. Nevertheless, she gives a strong performance and I think the chemistry between her and Thurman was good.

Speaking of Thurman, I think she was an excellent lead. I cannot quite see where some people are coming from when they say she wasn’t good in the lead. I think she has a certain look about her that made her ideal for this part. She certainly showed us constantly that she was a woman on a mission and would not be deterred from it. Therefore I would say she was star performer in this film and she does carry this excellent performance into the second (which isn’t surprising as like I mentioned before they are essentially one film).

As for the best parts of this film, I have make basic reference to some of them before. After Pulp Fiction, Tarantino became known for his ability to write quick, witty and cool dialogue and this film does lack in it somewhat. That said what it does feature, does work, like for example when the Bride first meets Hattori Hanzo. However, essentially this film is about its fight scenes and there are a few of them, although I must say the film is not overflowing with them. The majority of violence comes in the last half hour or so. This mostly is via the chapter called the ‘Showdown in the House of Blue Leaves’. This scene has become well known and is the final chapter in the first film. It was the one I made reference to a little earlier with the ‘Crazy 88’ and I have to say it does live up to expectation. This is a must see but I must once again warn you that this is not for the faint hearted as there is a lot of blood in this scene. However, as I also mentioned before, it is cartoon style and not taken seriously so it is for you to decide if you want to watch it. The reason I describe it as that style is because for example when someone is decapitated the blood sprays out about 6-feet in the air, which just wouldn’t happen and it is almost black comedy in the way it is done.

Furthermore, I feel the anime part of the film is unusual and blood filled also but it does work I think. I had my reservations when I heard about its inclusion and I must admit I am still unsure about how necessary it is in the film. However the anime does look good and Tarantino was essentially putting all his favourite things into the film and he loves anime so it went in. That said, I’m still not totally convinced!

The special effects in this film it must be said weren’t great but I feel that is deliberately so. There is no great CGI or anything like that and even the cars are done in the old-fashioned style against a projector. Yet, it makes sense that they would be done like this because the films Tarantino is paying homage to also feature effects of this type. Furthermore, one success visually is the well- choreographed fight scenes and all the costumes I think are great and very stereotypical but all the same great fun!

The thing that struck me, particularly on the second time of viewing, is the soundtrack of this film. Now beforehand Tarantino has tended to use original soundtracks in his films. However, in Kill Bill he does not but once again this is whole part of the massive repertoire of different genres he wants to include. The music in this film is great and we even get sound bites from Ironside, exerts from the Spaghetti Westerns (one of these films is the classic The Good, The Bad and The Ugly which Tarantino says is his favourite of all time) and even in the last scene we hear some flamenco music. There is also a song from a group called the 5,6,7,8’s. Many will know this song as it recently was used on adverts for Carling (the one where the can gets kicked down the street and with the really annoying song.) Well that really annoying song is featured in Kill Bill!

One of the best parts of this film is that it hasn’t got any hidden meanings it is just a movie for those who want to be entertained in an admittedly mindless way but at the same time a way you don’t have to think about but can simply enjoy. As for other films I feel this is as good as anything he has done before, perhaps with the exception of Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill Volume Two, which I believe are better. There is no doubting it you will either love or hate Kill Bill Volume one (and Two) and I suppose the same could be said about Tarantino films in general.

This film received an 18 certificate and this is undoubtedly the right certificate. The violence and language are so strong that it couldn’t possibly receive anything less. This is a film I wouldn’t even allow children up to about 15 or 16 to see, simply because I feel it is not suitable.

Overall, I did really enjoy Kill Bill Volume One and Tarantino in my view is still master. Whether you feel it is for you is another question, however I would at least say give it a go, unless you really dislike the violence that you know is contained in the film. This film, despite what some critics say, deserves its five stars out of five I have awarded it.

Thanks for reading!

You can buy it Region one DVD at the moment for £6.99 online and Region two DVD for £12.99 online.