Kill Bill: Vol. 1

The positives are clear: it's nice and colorful, it's got a good camera and nice hit music. It also has a "cool" pulp aesthetic. That's what pets like, right? And it's sweet postmodern “shit". A beautiful video clip. Great craft, Quentin is good at that. As well as magnificent boredom and the best filmed vacuum I can imagine. Pulp Fiction may have been silly, but at least it had something inside. Kill Bill is only able to pile up clip sequences and obscure the absolute lack of narrative dynamics with subtitled chapters, nice manga sequences, and a stylish (and utterly self-serving) narrative multi-voice. Dear Quentin, I thought I didn't like you, but Kill Bill brings a whole new intensity to our relationship. And Uma is quite pretty... It's a good thing you and I have something to talk about, man. Bleh! (09/21/2005)

A cool rip-off of Shogun Assassin with references to a couple dozen other films. One big stylistic exercise, which in the shadow of the brilliant Volume II completely loses its meaning and unnecessarily takes away from the credit of the whole. ♫ OST song rating: 4/5 (03/17/2023)

There is a certain dose of exaggeration and typically Tarantino humor that the viewer must embrace right from the beginning, otherwise the film be a lousy experience. Tarantino is firmly in control and directs the way he wants, which is, of course, evident in the result. The whole film carries an excellent atmosphere, enhanced by perfectly tuned exteriors and brilliantly interwoven music. Kill Bill fulfills all the film elements to the fullest but it may happen that a more conservatively inclined viewer won’t find their way to it and will not like it. It was also very interesting to see Uma Thurman, who underwent intense training for this role and it is truly visible. Tarantino plays with visual composition, constructs dialogues well, and overall the film is more captivating with a plethora of references and clever tricks, rather than a basic message as such, which is truly simple. (11/08/2003)

I really like older Tarantino films, and even though they are in genres that I don't particularly enjoy, Tarantino managed to direct them creatively and with added value, which every film fan must appreciate. Whether it was Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, or Jackie Brown, I always found something that enriched me. Kill Bill marked the beginning of the era of Tarantino films without added value, which may fascinate genre fans with their "purity," but I completely avoid them. Kill Bill pays homage to East Asian action films, which is something that doesn't appeal to me at all. The characters lack even minimal depth, and there's no need to talk about the screenplay. It is completely empty, purposeless nonsense, lacking emotions and character psychology. I would add that it has decent camera work and music, for which it deserves one star from me. Overall impression 25%. (02/16/2008)

If there’s one film that loudly argues that Quentin Tarantino is an even better director than screenwriter, that would be Kill BillVol. 1. It’s an INCREDIBLY well shot series of micro-stories, whose grouping and method of (in)closure may be questionable, but every second fully reflects the inexhaustible genius of one anointed filmmaker. Unfortunately, Quentin uses his supporting actors as surprisingly passive pawns on a journey through East Asian cinematic attractions, and he often blatantly revels in his own audiovisual perfection, but it’s impossible not to love it. The film is one big goosebumps fest, caused by the unearthly staging of the action accompanied by one amazing track after another (although the final fight, for example, loses its impact quickly, mainly due to the annoying black-and-white composition), and the subjective length is somewhere around 80 minutes. It's a kind of unpretentious treat that is simply a joy to watch, even though it doesn't have that much to do with the sequel and works more like porn for geeks than a starter of a complex and layered story. 80% (11/04/2011)