By Jeff Powalisz
A healthy dose of Quentin Tarantino viewing can usually result in some comical dialogue and imitations of some memorable acting.
After all, the 40-year-old writer/director did direct two of the 1990s most recognizable films “Reservoir Dogs” (1992) and “Pulp Fiction” (1994), both acknowledged for their out of the ordinary screenplays and the resurrection of many careers in Hollywood.
Tarantino followed with 1997’s memorable crime heist story “Jackie Brown,” based on an Elmore Leonard novel that included what might have been his strongest cast yet along with his most developed and mature story.
The question that hangs on every viewer as his next film, “Kill Bill: Volume 1,” opens this week is will it live up to the expectations of such a storied career?
The answer is that while the film, its story and acting all differ from the crime and pace of his previous films, it most definitely is another individual and memorable Tarantino flick.
Tarantino spent six years making this film; the story of one woman’s quest for justice. Uma Thurman, who previously appeared in “Pulp Fiction,” plays Black Mamba, a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DIVAS), and lover of Bill (David Carradine), the man who organized the deadly team.
When Mamba learns that she is pregnant, for the sake of her unborn child, she decides it is to best to create a new identity and marry an innocent civilian. Bill is aware of this, however, and assembles the Viper Squad to come after her.
This leads to the dramatic beginning of this film, the tension heightened by a close-up of Mamba’s face as she lies in suffering at a blood-spattered wedding party, about to enter into a four-year coma.
When she awakens, it will be a trip that goes from Pasadena, Calif. to Tokyo, Japan but Mamba is determined to seek revenge.
Some of Tarantino’s trademark film styles are seen in the perfect music background beats and songs, along with a swift way of moving from scene to scene. When Mamba has targeted a member of the DIVAS, Tarantino’s close-ups and shot movement make it obvious.
“Kill Bill: Volume 1” is also shot in chapters, something that viewers were used to after “Pulp Fiction,” as each section has its own feel for a certain genre along with new music and pop culture references that Tarantino is synonymous with.
The film is another tribute to Tarantino’s interests and loves in his own passion for movies in general. His love for Kung Fu and action movies led to the idea of creating one himself and this required time and a passion for the filming. He required his actors and actresses to view hundreds of movies, along with courses in fighting and karate to increase the feel for action in many scenes of gore and violence.
Also starring Daryl Hannah, Michael Bowen, Lucy Liu, and Michael Madsen, the film’s controversial “first half only” status does work out well. Tarantino and the MPAA decided to split the film in two parts due to its three-hour plus running time along with Tarantino’s hopes that viewers would need a break from the anxiety and violence of the first.
The non-stop fighting and flat-out determination of Black Mamba results in plenty of blood-squirting arms and executions by the dozens.
Whether or not one is pleased at the break-up in the film, the first half does end well, with some more perfectly placed music, and a cliffhanger for many to ponder while awaiting what Oscar-winner Tarantino will bring next.
