Volition

Well, if ever there was a master of ultra-refined movie wank, it would have to be Quentin Tarantino. Kill Bill Volume 1 is packed with the most blood, poor taste and cliches I've ever seen in the single sitting outside of a good Peter Jackson flick, but I'm not sure if I was impressed most by Tarantino managing to pull it all together into an entertaining film, or by the fact that he couldn't fit the entire story into one single production.

There is a lot of blood spraying around and many limbs flying, but it was done quite well, if done in slightly poor taste. The vast majority of these scenes are blatantly over the top, but always laughably so, which I think would diffuse much of the gut-twisting felt by the more squeamish members of the audience. The big fight happens mostly in burnt-out black and white, so while you see the gore flying, it doesn't really, um, hit you until the colour returns. Watch out for it, it's a great shot.

And the cliches, well, rocked. From the entrance credits to the finale. The chapter titles, the score and the action choregraphy to the nasty people's codenames. The plot itself was unashamedly like every other secret-agent-cum-samurai-warrior-gets-their-revenge plot out there, but it provides a sound footing for the rest of the wanky, Tarantino-esque paraphernalia that goes along with it. This is what he is good at and as I said, he brought it all together and came out with a very entertaining product.

The one thing that did suprise me (I knew about it, but completely forgot untill I saw it onscreen) was the 5/10 minute anime sequence in the middle of the film. I doubt it is unique in cinematic history, but I think it worked well. It certainly enhanced the feel that the rest is one big, epic, live-action anime flick. The story, the characters, the action sequences and the implausibility all fit well with the anime tradition, but Tarantino manages to sneek it in under everyone's radar as something completely different. It is your typical Tarantino film, but it's also the best attempt at anime by a western writer/director that I've seen, and I doubt this is by accident.

So the obvious comparison to make then is with Matrix Reloaded, which turned out to be a dumbed-down, more action-oriented sequel to the very entertaining The Matrix. Reloaded seems to be this years biggest dissapointment for many and Kill Bill takes that and rubs the Wachowski brother's noses in it. It out guns, out slicks, out animes Reloaded and never looks back. While Kill Bill doesn't have the reputation of The Matrix to live up to, it really works not only in the places Reloaded did, but also in the places Reloaded didn't. Note to the Wachowski brothers: If you want to make an action flick, Kill Bill is how to do it.

If you can't stand a sinlge drop of blood on-screen, then don't see this film, but if seeing the tops of peoples heads being lopped off by samurai-sword-wielding girls in bright yellow motorbike leathers sounds entertaining to you, then you know what to do.