Kill Bill Vol 1

“Kill Bill, Vol. 1,” released in 2003, is one of the most violent movies ever made.

When you watch the movie, you will see heads fly, limbs hacked off, women beaten viciously and shot in the head, and blood gushing everywhere.

In the end, whether audiences will enjoy “Kill Bill” will depend on how they feel about writer/director Quentin Tarantino. Either you love him or you hate him, and this film doesn’t look like it will change anyone’s mind either way.

Desert News said in their review, “Yet, for those who can stomach "Bill's" peculiar brand of ultraviolence, this revenge yarn is an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride that will satisfy even the most carnage-crazed action fan. (It should be noted that at least one scene was changed from color to black and white to keep the film from getting a rating more harsh than R.)”

Uma Thurman stars as a character just called The Bride. After spending four years in a coma, this former murderer awakes and takes revenge on those who had a hand in nearly killer her, as well as her unborn child and the man she was to marry, played by the late David Carridine.

She has a long list of enemies, including Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox), a housewife who’s now “retired” from her job, and O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu), who has now become the head of the Tokyo underworld.

Desert News noted, “You hate to use the word "subtle" to describe a filmmaker as bombastic as Tarantino, but there is actually some subtlety here, such as a Zenlike pause in the action that may be the most poetic thing he's ever done.” There’s also a great animated segment done in the Japanese anime style, which tells the origin of O-Ren, and which would look like an odd detour. However, it works in the context of what is actually a live-action cartoon.

This film is definitely not for everyone. Desert News noted, “Even the those with strong stomachs may feel a bit queasy after seeing some of the more blood-splattered sequences.”

This was also the best performance Thurman had at the time after years. Her intensity here makes you believe a woman this thin could actually cause all this chaos with the sword, a knife and other weapons. Same goes for Liu, who really looks like she is having fun being a villain again. We also have kung-fu movie veteran Sonny Chiba who owns every scene he’s in (unfortunately, he is not in enough).

The film also has one of the best soundtracks of all time. Desert News noted, “The RZA's score has the lurid tone of music from early chop-socky films at times, alternating with music that may bring to mind "blaxploitation" flicks.” There’s also the famous 5, 6, 7, 8 doing the song that annoyed people when it played during the Vonage commercials.

I saw this film on NetFlix and I had a great time watching this. I heard a lot about the film, but at the time the film was released, I wasn’t old enough to watch R rated movies and my parents made sure that I waited until the right age to watch movies regardless of what it was rated.

However, what can be said about Part 2? Is it better than Part 1 or not? Or could you say that the two parts are polar opposites? There is only one way to find out. Wait until next week for the finale of “Quentin Tarantino” Month to know what I thought about it.