The two films in the Kill Bill franchise are the direct result of Quentin Tarantino having his anime phase a little too late in life. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, because this film is still marvelous in its own right. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is a fantastic action film that shines a light on its leading lady Uma Thurman, known only as The Bride, who is set upon getting revenge on the people who sent her into a four-year coma and took her baby. This film is filled with plenty of amazing action sequences and a great story, but still suffers from some minor tone and pacing problems.
The best parts about this film lie in the setting and style of the film in which Tarantino chose. This film is heavily inspired by Japanese animation and anime of the 1990's. This is easily seen in not only the main menu of the film, but in the entire flashback sequence of the origin of Lucy Liu's character O-Ren. This animated scene definitely set the tone for most of the film, and while it still encountered some problems, it did well for the most part. The anime inspirations were definitely seen in the choreography as well, as the main character even wields a massive katana and the majority of the fight scenes were edited very closely to that of an anime. The close, quick cuts and exaggerated moves and effects during the fighting very much added to this feeling throughout the film. The other part of this film that I enjoyed a lot was the story. The character of The Bride was developed very well, and Tarantino's trademark style of non-chronological storytelling seemed to work in this sense as well. As the film begins with Uma Thurman's character getting shot in the head, it really shows how dramatic (and more importantly bloody) this film will be. It's always the opening statements from Tarantino that hook the audience, and this is no exception. I personally very much enjoyed the narrative choice to split this film into two parts, knowing how long of a story there was to tell. It can be seen that Tarantino wanted it that way originally, as Volume 2 came out the very next year. Either way, this film got me hooked and I absolutely need to finish up this story.
Some aspects of this film that I did not enjoy as much, however, were the pacing of much of the film and tone problems. The story revolves around The Bride getting revenge on the people who made her life hell, and we see two of them get killed in this film. The first being Copperhead, played by Vivica A. Fox, who was the first to die by the hands of Uma Thurman. This occurred within the first fifteen minutes of the film, and then it moved on to the exposition where it showed The Bride's training and the maker of the sword. The last hour and ten minutes of the film, however, was The Bride's encounter with O-Ren and the fight with all of her henchman. This pacing set me off a bit, because I felt like the scenes with Copperhead should have lasted longer. Even though it was not in chronological order, I still feel that too much time was spent on the O-Ren scenes, however awesome the fighting sequences were. Another problem that I had is regarding the tone of the film. However heavily influenced by Japanese animation this film was, I was never sure if Tarantino was aiming for a live-action anime or an American spoof of one. There were times when it felt quite authentic to the culture, but other times when the cinematography seemed to mock the idea of Japanese filmmaking. But hey, at least the "n" word wasn't even uttered once, which is a first for Quentin.
Overall, Kill Bill Vol. 1 is an outstanding example of a great action film with a solid plot and many elements that make it worth a watch, even a purchase. There are amazing fight scenes, a great soundtrack, and the classic Tarantino style that everyone either loves or hates. I would absolutely recommend this film to anyone, but make sure they have access to the sequel, because like me, they will be desperately needing that two hours of closure to the story of The Bride.
My Rating: ★★★½
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