Kill Bill - a review by Dave Fischer
In what is sure to be the first blockbuster of the new year, Kill Bill is poised to be Quentin Tarintino's triumphant return to center stage in the ongoing cinematic ratings wars. Unlike most other high-profile directors, Tarintino has never tried to hide his influences, or disguise his remakes (tributes?). Kill Bill is not merely the best movie he has yet made, it is a fantastic retelling of one of the characters that my 30-something generation universally loved and adored while growing up.
Kill Bill stars Uma Thurmon as the archetype scary female: The Woman Scorned. She spends close to two hours hunting down her ex-lover and killing everyone who was in any way associated with him.
Following scene after scene of dazzling sword-play while jumping over moving cars, sliding down banisters, and leaping through windows, the final climactic showdown is filmed in an eerie silence as Uma raises her hand, and in a flash brings it down palm first, squashing poor old Mr. Bill into an unrecognizable lump of clay.
Bravo! I can only hope that this presages a new trend in action films - raising the bar both of the director's craft, and the literary traditions these new screenplays harken back to.
See you at the theatre on opening night!