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“Revenge is a dish
Best served cold”
-Old Klingon Proverb
Best served cold”
-Old Klingon Proverb
Kill Bill was originally intended to be one film, however due to a runtime of nearly four hours, it was ultimately decided to divide the film into Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2, with each volume consisting of 5 chapters. Although technically two separate movies, because Kill Bill was originally intended to be one film/story arch, I will be covering both Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 within this review.
The Kill Bill double feature consists of the fourth and fifth installments within the list of numerous works written and directed by the brilliant independent filmmaker, Quentin Tarantino. The Kill Bill franchise includes every quintessential element that makes a Tarantino film; such as: a non-linear form of storytelling, Samuel Jackson, shots of peoples’ feet and social commentary. In addition, Tarantino combines characteristics of many sub-genres into one flick.
Kill Bill (Volumes 1 and 2) combine the visual aspects and motifs of spaghetti westerns with the over-the-top Kung-Fu fighting scenes and stellar swordplay to show enthusiasm for and pay tribute to, the Asian Action Flick. In addition, there is a stylistic feel, reminiscent to a B-movie. It should also be noted that the animation sequence within the film is inspired by a 2001 Bollywood flick entitled, Aalavandhan.
Kill Bill Vol. 1 is all about kicking ass and taking names, specifically the five names inscribed on Beatrix Kiddo’s death list. Beatrix Kiddo, a.k.a. the Bride (Uma Thurman) is our lone avenger protagonist who is out to kill anyone who was responsible for the massacre on her wedding rehearsal. This is a story of revenge and Uma Thurman rightfully portrays the extent of a woman’s scorn through her righteous fury in this action packed epic.
The five people on Beatrix death list five were each members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, a crew of professional killers, managed by Bill. Each member has a snake themed code name; Kill Bill Vol. 1 focuses on Beatrix journey to assassinate: Cottonmouth (Lucy Liu) and Copperhead (Vivica A. Fox). Whereas volume 2 covers the other three: Sidewinder (Michael Madsen), California Mountain Snake (Daryl Hannah) and the Snake Charmer himself, Bill (David Carradine).
Even though there are only 5 names on the death list, there is plenty of action in volume 1 to keep you on the edge of your seat. Nearly a half an hour of the first films run time consists of fighting sequences! In volume 1, the bride must breach through an entire gang to eliminate her targets. The makeup artist for the film, Christopher Allen Nelson admitted to using over 450 gallons of fake blood to meet the needs and demands of the film.
Volume 1 was phenomenal, but if you go into volume 2 expecting to see the same amount of gritty and gory goodness, you will surely be disappointed. Where volume 1 focused on fighting first and asking questions later, volume 2 seeks to answer said questions. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 is where the witty dialogue peaks and by the end of the film, no stones are left unturned.
Possibly my favorite fun fact about volume 2 is that Quentin Tarantino paid fellow director Robert Rodriguez $1 to do the music score. Rodriguez would return the favor the following year by paying Tarantino $1 to direct a scene in Sin City.
At the end of the day I would give Kill Bill: Vol. 1 a slightly better rating than its second volume counter part. I felt there was more excitment and a shock value in volume 1 than there was in volume 2. However, what volume 2 lakes in action, it makes up for in an intuitive storyline. Plus there is a cameo appearance by Samuel Jackson and he makes everything better. In addition, I rated my thoughts of the entire Kill Bill double feature as a whole in the form of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair.
If you can’t find Kill Bill on television, it is available on streaming services such as: Amazon, ITunes and Netflix.
Kill Bill: Vol.1
KIll Bill: Vol. 2
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloddy Affair
